UberChristchurch: Helping to Provide Safe Rides from A to B

Every day, millions of people in 400 cities around the world use Uber to get from A to B; wherever they are going in a city, night and day, whether they’re travelling alone or with friends.  And while no means of transportation can ever be 100% safe, our technology makes it possible to focus on safety for riders and driver-partners before, during, and after every trip in ways that have never been possible before.

Here are some of the innovative solutions we’ve implemented to improve safety for riders and driver-partners before, during and after every ride.

BEFORE YOU RIDE

	Background checks All driver-partners must have a full NZ Drivers license that they have held for at least 2 years. Each driver-partner is required to undergo a criminal background and driver history check provided by the New Zealand Transport Association and Ministry of Justice.
	Vehicle Safety All vehicles must be ten years old or newer, in good condition with four doors. Each vehicle must hold a current warrant of fitness provided by an accredited provider.
	Insurance Riders are automatically covered for injury by the ACC. Each driver-partner’s car is also insured, for damage it might cause to other’s property. On top of that, every New Zealand uberX ridehsharing trip is covered by Uber’s contingent liability insurance which provides at least USD $5,000,000 cover for other people’s bodily injury and property damage.
	No Street Hails The Uber app pinpoints your location so you can request a ride from anywhere and wait safely for your ride to arrive. The GPS-enabled map allows you to follow the car on approach and receive a notification when your ride arrives.
	No Driver is a Stranger When you request a ride through the Uber app you are provided with your driver-partner’s name, photo, vehicle model, registration plate number and their star rating, which is based on other riders’ previous experiences with the driver.

DURING YOUR TRIP

	Always Know Where You’re Going As soon as a driver-partner accepts your request, the trip is tracked in real-time using GPS technology, so you always know where you’re going and can check you’re on the right route.
	Share Your Location With our SafetyNet feature, an enhancement of the ‘Share my ETA’ function, you can easily share your trip details – including specific route and estimated time of arrival – with up to five pre-selected friends or family with two taps of a button, even if they don’t have the Uber app. Find out more about SafetyNet.
	Hassle-Free Payments Every trip is cashless which means riders and drivers never have to worry about the risk or hassle of carrying cash or handling change. Once your trip ends, the fare is calculated and your securely stored payment method is charged seamlessly and you will receive your receipt for the trip immediately.

AFTER YOU RIDE

	Actionable Feedback Our unique two-way feedback system allows riders and driver-partners to rate each other out of five stars after each trip and submit written feedback. This brings transparency and accountability to every trip.
	24/7 support We take your feedback very seriously, and we act on it. Lost something? Have a question? Need to report a trip? Our 24/7 rider and driver-partner support team are always here to help. Your feedback helps us maintain our high safety and service standards.
	Rapid Response We have a dedicated Incident Response Team to address any urgent issues. If we receive a report that there has been an accident or altercation between a rider and driver-partner, we can prevent them from accessing the platform while we investigate.

BEHIND THE SCENES

	Anonymous Contact Details We use technology that anonymises rider and driver-partner phone numbers so that they do not have each other’s personal contact details.
	Always on the Map GPS data for all rides on the Uber platform is logged so we can know which driver-partners and riders are riding together and where they are for the duration of the trip. GPS enables us to verify the efficiency of every route being used, which creates accountability and a strong incentive for good behaviour.
	Supporting the Police In cases where the police are investigating a relevant incident, we may assist their investigations. For example, by providing trip logs. Transparency and accountability are at the heart of the Uber experience

If you have any questions about safety, visit help.uber.com.