Popular ride-hailing company, Uber has launched an emergency button feature on its app. This comes as part of a series of safety features aimed at improving the safety of both drivers and riders on a trip.
The company also launched an audio-recording feature which will enable both riders and drivers to record an ongoing trip. If there’s an incident, the rider or driver will be able to make a report with the audio recording as evidence.
Issues of safety and security are endemic in Nigeria and ride-hailing platforms are not exempt from it. There have been instances of robberies, accidents and harassments usually between drivers and riders. With these new features, Uber is taking a bold step to curb these occurrences.
According to the Country Manager of Uber, Tope Akinwumi, the company is partnering with Sety, a Nigerian technology company providing emergency management services on the Emergency Button feature.
He said the in-drive feature is meant to provide emergency assistance to drivers and riders on the Uber app. The Emergency Button would come in handy in cases of broken or damaged glasses, phone snatching, accidents and other health emergencies.
“We have partnered with a company called Sety to help provide emergency assistance to both drivers and riders. You might be going on a trip and someone comes to your glass breaks your window and snatches your phone. Or if you’re in a place that you’re unsafe, what do you do then?”
Tope Akinwumi, Country Manager of Uber,
He said this is where Sety comes in by dispatching emergency responders that gets to the rider or driver in minutes and help to resolve the issue.
How Uber emergency button would work
Speaking on how Sety would handle the situation, Nnamdi Mmelie, the CEO of Sety told Technext that they have been working on the service for more than 18 months.
He said if the rider is in danger and in need of help for any emergency, whether they are feeling sick or in an accident or injured, or even if the driver falls sick, once they use the emergency button, Sety will send an ambulance. If they could treat them there they will, if they can’t they will stabilize the victim and rush them to the hospital.
“Uber has essentially partnered with us to embed our technology where we have a command and control Centre and where all these emergency requests are received. When you call they ask you questions about your name, location and other forms of identification. Once they are able to establish that there’s a need to send somebody, they will.”
Nnamdi Mmelie, tCEO of Sety
He said his company also handles situations of robbery and other violent crimes as they would send security agents to the spot to douse the situation. The security agents could also rescue a rider and driver and take them away from danger and dangerous situations.
He said Sety has collaborated with emergency providers like ambulance services, security agencies and private security companies and other first responders in its quest to adequately provide these services.
He also explained that his company would only send emergency workers to situations where an emergency has occurred. He explained that if it is a situation that could be resolved between driver and passenger, like arguments about price and about route, the dispatch would either try to resolve or escalate the matter to Uber.
He noted that only 2-15% of requests end up needing emergency services. He also said is company delivers emergency services within 15-20 minutes. In case of traffic, they have bike riders who could hurriedly be at the place of the emergency.
Audio recording feature
Speaking on the Audio recording feature, Uber Country Manager, Tope Akinwumi says the feature helps reduce incidents during a trip. These incidents range from unruly drivers or riders to squabbles and embarrassing situations that occur during a trip. The feature allows a rider or driver to record a trip and send to Uber as evidence in case they have to make a report.
“If you’re on a trip, we won’t be there with you. It’s just you and the driver. If there’s an instance where the driver or rider is unruly, there’s no way Uber will be able to judge that very well without having ears in the vehicle. That’s why we launched this feature so you can now record a trip and report to Uber so we can now make decisions based on our community guidelines.”
Tope Akinwumi
He said both drivers and riders can access a recorded trip. If a report isn’t made, it remains on the Uber system and on the riders phone for 15 days before been deleted. He further assured that all privacy rules and laws have been followed.
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