In-trip audio record, a safety feature by Uber that was in reports a few days back, has been announced officially in India today. It also combines with Ridecheck and PIN verification, the latter of them being already used by Ola since its own launch. Uber held a press event in New Delhi today, announcing the three new privacy features. Ride check and PIN verification will be available from today meanwhile audio recording will be launched in India later.
Ride check will use sensors in driver’s smartphones to detect long stops and possible crashes. A notification will be sent to both driver and passenger confirming their safety. It will contain an emergency button and a Uber safety line where passengers can report the issue. They can let the company know through the app that ‘all is well’, or take other actions like using the emergency button or reporting the issue to Uber’s Safety Line. This feature is already available on Ola, its prime rival globally.
After being trialed in Brazil and Mexico, audio recording will enable both riders and drivers in India to record their entire trips if they feel uncomfortable. The recordings can then be shared with the Uber on the app itself for review. To avoid tampering Audio recordings are stored in encrypted form. Uber plans to pilot audio recording as a safety feature in India in 2020, available for riders and drivers.
Following the footsteps of Ola, Uber is now also offering its riders a PIN verification feature to verify their respective vehicle. The ride only begins after PIN is verified which also ensures that the driver won’t is able to put extra charges by starting the trip early. To enable this feature the customer has to go in the ‘Safety’ setting in their Uber app and enable the ‘Verify your rides’ feature.
In the event Uber said that to make its platform safer for women, they have partnered with Manas foundation which has conducted gender sensitization workshops for more than 50,000 of its drivers.
