EGYPT – Uber Egypt has unveiled new safety feature in its application allowing clients to call and speak to specialized Incident Response Team after the trip.
According to Uber, the new feature will provider Uber platform users with a channel to report any safety-related incident during their rides.
Users desiring to use the call back feature will be required to request to be called back.
The request should be submitted along with the users contact details and a short description of the safety event.
Uber explains that once the request has been successfully submitted users will then receive a call within minutes by the specialized support team to help handle the incident at hand.
At the feature’s backend, trained representatives of the Incident Response Team will be available around the clock to connect with users.
Uber hopes that the call back feature will enable it to detect and address any security incidents at an early stage and thus enhance the safety of the platform to users.
Ahmed Khalil, General Manager of Uber in Egypt explained that the new feature has been introduced following ongoing conversations with the Egyptian Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) to pilot a new safety feature.
“Rolling out the call-back feature is a step further in our safety efforts to make trips on the Uber app a safer experience. We understand how every minute counts in critical moments, and that’s why we remain committed to design innovative features that will help Uber users to stay connected to us.”
Ahmed Khalil, General Manager of Uber in Egypt
Safety has been a long-running Achilles’ heel for ride-hailing companies, which depend on a large volume of people using their service.
Uber has for instance reported a number of safety incidents including sexual harassment, rape, and even murders happening on travelers using its platform.
Last year, Uber reported that 3,045 sexual assaults occurred during its rides in the United States in 2018.
The Uber report on safety further revealed that nine people were murdered while using the platform and 58 others were killed in crashes.
Uber has since stepped up its safety efforts, introducing new features including caller anonymization, sharing the trip details with trusted contacts, two-way accountability, real-time ID check, and GPS tracking to enhance user safety.
The call-back feature is latest of these features and is part of Uber’s continuous efforts to maintain the safety and well-being of users on the platform.
Apart from the Egyptian market, Uber said that the call-back feature has been rolled out in 9 other markets in the Middle East and Africa.
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