As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to complicate all activities involving human interaction, leading ride-hailing service Uber is implementing a timely new function within its rider app; one that employs selfie technology to verify that riders are wearing their masks.
The same feature has been active within Uber's driver app since May 2020, prompting drivers to take a selfie showing that their nose and mouth are covered prior to taking on passengers or delivering food. To date, over 3.5 million of its drivers and delivery people have completed more than 100 million mask verifications.
The same month, the company rolled out a host of new safety measures, including the requirement for both its riders and drivers to wear face masks; and began supplying all of its drivers with free masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant spray and wipes in an initial expenditure of $50 million.
Acting on the belief that accountability is a two-way street, the same technology is now being extended to riders. While riders aren't expected to take a masked selfie every single time they order an Uber, one will be required before they're able to take another trip with Uber if a driver reports that they didn't don a mask or were wearing it ineffectively.
Uber's layered health and safety approach also includes a checklist that's issued to riders before every trip, asking them to confirm that they're following widely recommended precautions, such as wearing their face coverings, and washing or sanitizing their hands, and agree to sit in the back seat with windows open for optimum ventilation. The campaign is aptly called "Wash, Wear and Air".
"We require all Uber users to wear a mask when driving, riding, or delivering," explained Sachin Kansal, Global Head of Safety and Driver Product at Uber. That's why we're introducing this new mask verification feature into the rider app this month. We believe it will add another layer of safety and hope this new feature empowers drivers-their feedback can help keep the platform safe for everyone."
Uber's two-way, in-app feedback system has long served to support its riders' and drivers' adherence to certain standards by enabling instant feedback on issues like vehicle quality, navigation and speeding. Now, the same system can help ensure that everyone is doing their part to protect one another. As more riders and drivers take their "second first trip" following a relative standstill in ride-sharing amid the pandemic, Uber hopes that this increased accountability effort provides more peace of mind.
The mask verification feature for Uber riders is set to launch in the U.S. and Canada by the end of September, with a rollout in Latin America and other countries to follow. It's worth noting that drivers and riders who repeatedly violate mask policies risk losing their access to Uber altogether.
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