Riders, drivers get new safety feature in ride-hailing service app

Ride-hailing service Uber has launched a new safety feature for riders and drivers to alert the operator in an emergency event when making a telephone call was not possible.

A new in-app feature has been launched in more than two dozen cities in the United States (US) for letting the riders and drivers to text 911 by selecting a text option.

Key information such as the car make and model, license plate, current GPS location and intended destination will be sent to a dispatcher.

Moreover, the rider or driver can also add further information explaining the emergency after sending the information besides being able to stay in communication with the operation until help arrives.

The feature is introduced at a time when the company has suffered many blows to its track record, as it reported nearly 6,000 cases of sexual abuse and 19 fatal physical assaults in its first safety review.

It is pertinent to mention here the company had previously included a 911 assistance button in Uber’s Safety Toolkit in 2018 and other features to help the rider and driver feel safe while on a trip

Both parties have had the ability to contact 911 since the rollout of the Toolkit, but the texting option is a new service that has been tested in Los Angeles, Minnesota and Indiana, Dailymail UK reported.

According to Uber, the feature is now available wherever ‘Text to 911’ has been activated by area 911 officials, including dozens of counties and metro areas in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Washington State.

If a rider or driver does not feel safe, they simply select the 911 badge in the app and hit the text option.

A SMS text message is immediately sent to the local 911 dispatcher sharing the car model, license plate, current location and destination.

The feature then prompts the user to tell the operator the reason for their message, allowing them to freely text what the issue is and why they need help.

The two are able to communicate while emergency vehicles track the car in real-time until they are able to come to the person’s aid.

The dispatcher has access to a screen that shows the cars journey via a red pin.

Officials noted that that the process of locating the rider or diver can take up to two minutes, but Uber’s new feature provides the information instantly.