Uber has introduced two
new safety features for riders in India in response to concerns about safety
after a passenger reported that she had been attacked by a driver.
The San Francisco-based
taxi firm’s app will now have a “panic button” that allows riders to notify the
police in case of an emergency and a “safety net” feature that will allow users
to share their trip details and location with as many as five other people.
Uber has also said
that it is creating a local team that will respond to reports by riders and
will get a notification when the panic button is pressed. The new features came
out on Wednesday, but Uber did not say if the new features will be available in
other countries other than India.
If you aren't clear on
what Uber is, it is an app that lets passengers summon cars through an app in
more than 250 cities around the world! Unfortunately since they have been
expanding, they now face multiple legal and regulatory challenges.
An Uber passenger said
she was attacked by a driver in New Delhi in December last year and then sued
the company in January. The lawsuit alleges that Uber isn't doing enough to
keep their passengers safe, and the company may also face charges if Indian Prosecutors
believe it misrepresented the safety of its services.
Uber has actually been
banned in New Delhi, India. It has also been banned in the southern technology hub
of Hyderabad and the entire southern state of Karnataka. However, the company says
it plans to improve its safety programmes this year and is looking for new ways
to screen drivers.
Uber recently wrote on
their blog that the idea of a physical panic button wasn't possible because
they don’t actually own the cabs. They added that buttons would be vulnerable
to wear and tear and said that if it and other operators were forced to put
buttons in cars, passengers might get confused in an emergency.
So, for now the app
will just have to do, unless the owner of the vehicle took responsibility of
installing the panic button and if the button called the police directly!
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Written By: Christine Romans
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