Uber celebrated its current chief executive’s one year anniversary by announcing a set of new measures that the company says will “raise the bar on safety.”
The announcement came on September 5 with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi saying the ridesharing company will soon be in a position to detect unexpected stops and possible crashes.
Ride check, a GPS powered tool has been introduced with Uber saying the tool will harness GPS and other sensors in the driver’s smartphone to detect possible crashes.
“Enter Ride Check: a new feature to help make sure you are OK in the event of a possible crash, and give you tools to get help quickly,” Uber CEO wrote on a blog.
Ride Check is meant to detect potential impact and therefore send a notification to drivers and passengers inquiring if they are okay. It can also provide tools necessary for what to do to get help including linking with security authorities.**
Mr. Khosrowshahi added that Ride Check can do more. “This technology can also flag trip irregularities beyond crashes that might, in some rare cases, indicate an increased safety risk. For example, if there is a long, unexpected stop during a trip, both the rider and the driver will receive a Ride Check notification to ask if everything is OK. They can let us know through the app that all is well, or take other actions like using the emergency button or reporting the issue to Uber’s critical safety line.”
Uber will also introduce a new two step verification process so as to enhance account security, as well as a hands free tool that allows for ride pickups to be made and confirmed on voice command.
The Uber CEO also said that personal data and driver safety is being enhanced as the company will start concealing specific pickup and drop off addresses in the driver’s trip history. “Going forward, after the trip ends, the Driver app will only show the general area where a trip started and ended, not the address.”
The safety measures are expected to be implemented by Uber over the coming months, Mr. Khosrowshahi said.
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