Uber had its share of setbacks in recent times, from a forced exit of its co-founder and boss Travis Kalanick to criticism over snooping on customers for years and lying about it. But the taxi-hailing company has a new leader Dara Khosrowshahi, the boss of a successful online travel company – Expedia.
Are things looking up for Uber? That's an argument for another day, but the company hasn't stopped making efforts to improve its services. After the snooping incident came to light, a lot of customers who lost faith in the taxi app raised the safety issues.
Uber was forced to ditch the controversial feature that allowed it to snoop on customers after drivers dropped them off, and it is now going the extra mile to ensure their safety. On Wednesday, Uber India announced several rider and driver focused safety initiatives, as part of its UberSAFE campaign, which benefits both riders and drivers on its platform.
"Whether you're behind the wheel or sitting in the back seat of the car, Uber's commitment to safety for everyone is unwavering. We will continue to invest in technology and innovation to help ensure a safe, reliable trip from beginning to end. Every single day, it remains our endeavour to provide a seamless experience to our users, and the UberSAFE campaign is aimed at streamlining our efforts in this direction. Our safety features are unmatched and are uniquely to provide a safe ride experience," Pradeep Parameswaran, head of central operations at Uber India, said in a statement.
Uber riders in India will now have an option to share their trip status with five contacts, so friends and family can be updated about your whereabouts. The new "Share Trip" feature also gives the approximate time to reach the destination, which can get tricky given the rising traffic conditions in Indian metros. The feature will be rolled out across India by the end of this month, but riders in Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune and Lucknow can start using it right away.
Another important feature introduced on Wednesday ensures the security of riders by verifying drivers in real time. If you find the driver assigned is different from the one driving you, the new Real-Time ID check feature kicks in.
With this, users can demand authentication of the driver, and Uber will send the driver an intimation to snap a selfie from within the app and share it with the company. Uber will then compare the face detected from Face-Detect API with an already verified face and give a confidence score that will say whether the two faces belong to the same person. In case the driver fails Real Time ID check, the account will be temporarily blocked.
Parameswaran said Uber will hold random Real-Time ID verifications to prevent fraud by ensuring drivers' accounts are not compromised. This benefits both riders and drivers.
But what's even more interesting is that Uber will use the driver's phone sensors to track if the driver is over-speeding, using hard brakes often and fatigued. At the end of the day, Uber will send a report on the driving pattern to make sure drivers are careful in the future. Uber is also testing new sensors at its labs, which will be fitted directly into the vehicles to track everything from driving patterns to the condition of the car like coolant levels, braking and alike.
At the event, Parameswaran insisted riders use the emergency feature integrated directly within the app in the time of need and also use the driver's ratings to send a feedback, which is closely tracked by Uber for improvement.
