Uber's New Safety Toolkit Offers Real-Time Help From Safety Agent
Ride-share service Uber has updated its Safety Toolkit with new features.
- She received the Renau Writing Scholarship in 2016 from the University of Louisville's communication department.
Uber on Tuesday announced its upgraded Safety Toolkit with new options designed to improve user safety. New features include Live Help, which gives riders and drivers real-time access to an ADT safety agent via call or text. For now, this feature is only available in the US.
When a user opens Live Help, the responding agent can monitor and stay in contact during an ongoing trip, as well as call 911 to provide important information for the rider or driver.
The revamped Safety Toolkit also more widely rolls out a more discreet way to text 911. According to Uber, when a user texts 911, the Uber app will pre-populate a message with vehicle details, location and destination information for faster communication with dispatchers. The feature first rolled out in 2019, but is now expanding to nearly 60% of the US.
Uber originally offered an in-app 911 emergency button for passengers, which launched in 2018, and rolled out later for drivers. The button was added in response to rides that reportedly ended in dangerous situations with women alleging sexual assault against drivers in multiple states.