Uber has rolled out enhanced safety features for driver-partners following a series of assaults. One of the new features is called Social Connect, which will require cash riders to link to their social media page to verify their identity when signing up.
These safety features come after driver-partner feedback at national focus groups, with thousands of driver-partners, and in-person conversations at the Uber Green Light Hubs, which are partner support centres.
A further improvement to the app for drivers includes Share My Trip, which will give drivers the opportunity to share a trip with a loved one, the same way riders do.
Alon Lits, general manager, Uber Sub-Saharan Africa said, “We’ve received a lot of feedback from driver-partners and we know that their safety is a major concern of their’s and ours. We are always listening to drivers and most recently we launched the Cash Indicator.
“Now, to further enhance Uber’s technological safety features, we are launching Social Connect and Driver Share My Trip. We’ll continue to welcome driver-partner feedback and prioritise the safety of all those using the Uber app, while regularly tracking the success of new features and updates.”
Reducing anonymity is a real deterrent to crime and one of the key safety benefits of Uber Social Connect. Cash is a dominant payment method in South Africa and this works for those riders wanting to use Uber, who may not have a credit card.
Lits added, “While driver-partners have shown their concern regarding the safety of cash trips, many still do not want to remove the cash option altogether. We look forward to applying this additional layer of safety to verify rider identity and further strengthen the rider authentication process.”
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The variables that are verified are the number of friends, verified profile and phone number. Uber will only use the link to Facebook to verify a user and check for a legitimate Facebook profile.
“We are confident these new features will add additional layers of safety for our driver-partners. We will continue to invest in technology and innovation to help ensure a safe, reliable trip from beginning to end,” concluded Lits.
Social Connect is a phased rollout to new cash riders across South Africa. Driver Share My Trip is a pilot running in Johannesburg and Pretoria with the aim to expand soon.
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