Since our first ride nearly a decade ago, GPS has been the backbone of the Uber experience. Every trip is on the map, so we know where and when you’re riding and who’s behind the wheel. This data has increased accountability and allowed us to make travel safer.

An overwhelming number of Uber rides take place without incident, but with the power of the GPS data that we have and other sensors in drivers’ smartphones, our technology can detect when something may not be going quite right.  This is how we have developed our latest safety feature RideCheck that can detect anomalies, like a possible crash or an unexpected long stop, and proactively surfaces tools riders and drivers may need to get help.  This feature is launching soon for all riders and drivers across the Middle East.

When a RideCheck is initiated, both a rider and driver will receive a notification asking if everything is OK. They can let us know through the app that all is well, or take other actions like using the emergency button, reporting a crash, or simply sharing their ride with a trusted contact.  This technology will continue to evolve, and we are working to add additional scenarios to RideCheck.

A RideCheck can serve a gentle nudge reminder to both riders and drivers that we are looking out for them.  It will also help encourage users to report. We take any incident seriously no matter how small, and most importantly as a tech company, we believe in the power of data to learn and improve.  We’ve always encouraged reporting and we hope that this new feature will increase reporting which in turn will allow us to continue to improve safety on our platform.