Uber has released a 911 feature that will be accessible in the US. If you’re ever in a crisis, you can call for help without leaving the portable application. If you live in specific urban communities (Denver, Charleston, Naples, Louisville and three Tennessee urban areas), a tie-in with RapidSOS will forward your location to 911 dispatchers. Uber revealed to TechCrunch that it’s in talks with various cities across the globe to execute location sharing, and that it should be accessible everywhere.
“Users have told us, ‘Something to give me peace of mind is a way to access emergency features,'” Sachin Kansal, Uber’s Head of Safety Products, said in a phone interview. “We are making this very accessible right from the home screen.”
The button will connect drivers to the police, giving your Uber’s location and tag number in case you’re at risk. A similar button will be available for drivers in late spring.
Uber will know whether you called 911 through its application, and will send you a message later to inquire whether it can help. It won’t recognize what you said on the call, however, and it won’t tell drivers, since they might be the reason you called. The component is accessible as a feature of Uber’s increased security focus, which uses data about driver screening, community rules, and insurance scope.
While it was possible to call 911 from Uber previously, many considered the component past due for the US, given that the choice has been accessible in India for some time. Travelers, overwhelmingly ladies, have long since complained about sexual misconduct and provocation from drivers, to the point where they’ve submitted claims and won settlements. The expansion furnishes these travelers with a helpful safety outlet, and ensures that Uber knows about emergencies far sooner.
