Taxi hailing service Uber, has finally launched a panic button for the South African market.
In April 2018, Uber announced that it would be integrating a direct way for riders to call authorities, in an effort to boost its safety reputation. And thus was born the panic button, which has been rolled out slowly across various markets.
Business Insider now reports that the same has arrived in South Africa.
This will be quite welcome in the country, since Uber drivers and users have continued to face intimidation, particularly from meter taxi drivers. This has ranged from insults, killings, vehicle torching and even acid attacks.
IcePlus – a mobile emergency app company, are providing the service for Uber.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer this feature to riders. ICEPlus has integrated perfectly with our app and will provide a better experience for riders,” said Alon Lits, General Manager for Sub Saharan Africa.
Riders will be able to call for assistance directly inside the Uber app.
The rider will then be connected to ICEplus incident management centre, where a consultant will assess the nature of the emergency, and dispatch a third-party private security company, or medical response team to the location.
This feature will also include ‘Trusted Contacts’, which will allow riders to share trip details with up to 5 people.
