Ubers are an integral a part of our transportation arsenal, whether or not we prefer it or not. The ride-share firm introduced as we speak the overhaul of its security toolkit, which now contains the power to contact an ADT operator and textual content 911.

Uber is seeking to make that journey you simply referred to as somewhat bit safer, with an up to date security toolkit. The firm introduced a redesigned model of their pre-existing security options, with a person interface that options two new options. Passengers will now have the ability to join with an ADT Safety Agent for “those less critical moments,” says Lead Safety Product Manager Rebecca Payne in a press release. The new toolkit additionally embody the widespread rollout of textual content to 911, which Uber has been testing since 2019 in Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Indiana.

“When someone uses the text to 911 feature, the Uber app will pre-populate the initial message with vehicle details, location, and destination information, so you can quickly communicate that information to emergency dispatchers,” writes Payne. “While calling 911 is always preferred by first responders, texting can be a crucial way for users to request help discreetly, and we look forward to expanding this feature as more states and cities implement the technology.”

In 2017, London threatened to kick Uber out after town cited security issues with the ride-sharing app, particularly referencing Uber’s strategy to reporting crime. And even earlier than that, in 2016, Uber (and rival Lyft) stopped working in Austin, Texas over a battle that requested the businesses to implement fingerprint-based background checks on their drivers. While it’s unknown whether or not anyone incident was the straw that broke Uber’s again into integrating security options, these conditions did level to an enormous problem in how the corporate ensured rider security. Uber first started experimenting with a security toolkit characteristic in 2018, which allowed customers to share their journey particulars with as much as 5 Trusted Contacts in addition to contact 911 by way of the app itself. The firm subsequently introduced at the moment a extra rigorous screening course of for drivers in addition to an expanded Safety Advisory Board.

Nevertheless, Uber has made it an informal prevalence to neglect our father or mother’s warnings of entering into vehicles with strangers, and it’s essential for an organization that’s changing into so baked into our transportation infrastructure to proceed to innovate security options.