With the aim to strengthen the safety of its riders, Uber, the world’s largest on-demand ride-sharing company, has launched a public awareness campaign, Check Your Ride, to all riders across the six continents where Uber operates.
Every time someone rides with Uber, they will get in-app reminders and a push notification, reminding them to make sure they’re getting into the right car with the right driver by matching the license plate, car make and model, and the driver photo with what’s provided in the app.
In addition to these steps, you can also ask the driver to confirm your name. Your driver sees your name in his app, and your driver’s name is displayed in your app. To safely exchange names, you can ask, “Who are you here to pick up?” The advisory further stresses upon not boarding the vehicle if the information in the app doesn’t match up. The rider is advised to go to a safe place and wait for the right car to arrive, or cancel the ride and report it to support. Uber strongly encourages reporting driver identity fraud for the safety of future riders as well.
Ankit Gupta, Lead, Sri Lanka, Uber, added, “Our goal is to make checking your ride before you get in the car synonymous with using Uber, every single time. This new notification feature will remind people to complete these three steps every time they get in an Uber. It is another important and visual reminder of the importance we place on safety as well as how technology can make travel safer than ever before.”
Uber has launched a number of safety products so that during the trip, riders feel safe knowing that they can share their trip with their loved ones. There is an emergency number that connects you to law enforcement, and should you need help, there is a dedicated safety centre within the app to guide and support them. These features are built upon and strengthened by some of Uber’s core safety offerings such as 24/7 support team, GPS tracking of all trips, and on trip insurance.
While Uber has been adding these safety features over the years, these features are very important and for them to be effective it starts with the basics, getting into the right car.
SAFETY FEATURES IN THE APP
- Check Your Ride Push Notifications: We are adding a new push notification to remind riders of the Check Your Ride steps just before their car arrives. The alert will go live today and will progressively roll out nationwide in the days ahead.
- Check Your Ride In-App Banner: We’re putting a clear message in the app, starting from the moment the rider gets matched with a driver until the moment they start their trip, to remind them how to confirm the right ride. We’ll keep this reminder in place for several weeks and initiate it periodically in the future.
Link to the check your ride video that explains the three steps