Uber’s Emergency Button
Written byIn an emergency, seconds count.
Federal regulators estimate about 10,000 lives could be saved every year if first responders could get to a 911 caller just one minute faster.
We want you to have the tools to get help quickly if you’re facing an emergency situation. That is why we added an emergency button to the Uber app.
While all drivers and riders have the emergency button in their app, in some cities we have invested in new technology that makes certain trip details available to 911 dispatchers electronically.
When a rider or driver uses the in-app emergency button to call 911, the car’s make and model, license plate, and GPS location are made available to 911 dispatchers.
We first launched this feature in Denver and a few other cities. Working with 911 centers and our partner, RapidSOS, we have introduced this feature to some of the largest cities in the country, including Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix, and Washington, DC.
Today, it is available in more than 60 cities and counties in the US, and we recently began testing the feature in Mexico. We look forward to bringing this feature to additional cities.
How it works
Riders and drivers can access the safety toolkit by tapping the shield icon on their app’s map screen. After tapping the 911 Assistance feature, you will see your GPS location, car make and model, and license plate.
If you tap the “Call 911” button and connect to an emergency dispatcher, those trip details become available to them digitally and can be used to respond to an emergency. Uber’s customer support team will follow up with a check-in
This feature is available in more than 250 cities and counties in the United States. If users are in a participating area, the app will indicate that trip information is automatically shared with 911. Riders and drivers can choose not to share their trip information with 911 dispatchers by changing the privacy settings in their app.