Uber today announced some new features to improve safety for passengers. Every day, millions of people rely on Uber to get from one place to another so more security features for them will certainly be welcomed. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has revealed a snapshot of the improvements that are due to be launched in the United States this summer in a post on the company’s official blog today.
The Uber app has been updated with safety in mind and all safety-related features have been located in one central place so that they’re accessible directly from the home screen during a trip. Existing features such as Share My Trip will be easier to find as well.
Riders will soon get a Safety Center in the app which will provide safety information such as tips created in partnership with law enforcement, driver screening processes, community guidelines, and insurance protections.
The Trusted Contacts feature will allow riders to designate up to five friends and family members as Trusted Contacts and they will be prompted to share trip details with them during every ride. Night time sharing will be offered as a separate option for those who don’t want to share all of their day trips as well.
The Uber app will soon get a new emergency button as well which will connect riders directly to 911. This feature will also show their real-time location both in the app on a map and as an address so that it can easily be shared with the 911 operator. This feature will soon be launched for drivers as well.
Additional safety-focused changes include an improvement of the driving screening processor, annual background check reruns, and new offense notifications to further improve screening standards.