Uber introduces new safety feature in Boston
Ride-hailing company Uber is taking steps to address transparency and safety concerns, and they’re starting in Boston.
Uber announced in a press release Sunday that Boston is one of the first cities to have access to a new feature dubbed “SafetyNet.’’ The update allows users to share their ETA, current location, driver’s first name, and the vehicle identification information with five contacts in their phone.
The company stated that a national rollout of the feature is in the works and is expected to become available in the coming weeks.
The update comes as the Massachusetts legislature considers multiple bills regarding ride-hailing regulation and after Uber drivers have been accused or convicted of sexual assaults in the area. The company has also been sued for neglecting the safety of its passengers.
Prior to SafetyNet, the company allowed users to send a text to a contact via the “Share My ETA’’ feature. The text included a link to a map that detailed the trip, but wasn’t available with users on certain phone plans or platforms. With SafetyNet, Uber sends the link from a server to the selected contacts, and allows “virtually all riders’’ to access the real-time tracking.
“Transparency is one important way that Uber’s technology improves safety in transportation,’’ the release stated. “By keeping driver-partners, riders and their loved ones informed of where they are and who they are with, Uber takes the anonymity out of a trip.’’
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