Uber will start doing annual criminal background check of drivers the USA and hire a company that constantly monitors criminal arrests, as it tries to do a better job keeping riders safe.
The movement said Thursday one of several actions taken by the Ride-hailing company under new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who said that the changes are not just done in order to Polish the company’s image, which suffered from driver, inappropriate behavior and a long string of other annoying flaws.
“The first thing we want to change the content of uber and images may follow”, he said in an interview with the associated Press. “The statements that we make a step towards the creation of the uber fundamentally safer for drivers and riders.”
Other security features include a button in the uber app which allow riders to call 911 in case of emergencies, and application improvements that will make it easier for riders to share their location with friends or loved ones.
Since the beginning of operation in 2009, uber has been undermined by reports of drivers adhered to the passengers, including cases involving charges of sexual harassment. Last year the company was fined $8.9 million in Colorado for the fact that people with serious criminal or a car offenses to work as drivers. The Commission on housing said that it found almost 60 people who were allowed to enter the state, despite a previous conviction or serious traffic violations, including driving while intoxicated.
Khosrowshahi, former CEO of travel booking website Expedia, which replaced the hard-charging founder Travis Kalanick in August and problems almost from the beginning. Most recently, he had to contend with standalone programs his company car after one of his was struck by SUVs, and last month struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona.
Said khosrowshahi exponentially fast growth of the company prevented the steps as annual inspection is done early. “I can’t change the past, but I can change what we do,” he said.
Uber makes 15 million trips per day worldwide, and its drivers “reflects the good and the bad, and random events in the world,” said Khosrowshahi.
It was bad policy for uber to make only one check for drivers and not to follow, said Thomas Mauriello, senior lecturer in criminology at the University of Maryland and a former employee of the Ministry of defence who was involved in the test. But he sees positive changes, potentially catching bad behavior after the driver is hired for.
“Any test is better than not to check,” he said. “No one should think that any verification they will be 100% clear and get all the information.”
Some governments require inspection after drivers are hired, but company policy makes it uniform across the country, said uber.
Uber will conduct its annual inspection through a company called watch, which will begin in a few weeks. He’s still not going to do the FBI checks the fingerprints, verification of court records and other databases is a reliable, fair and “stacks up well against alternatives”.
The company that uber will not determine, was employed to constantly verify the details of the arrest, which will begin in a few weeks, uber said.
Most governments do not require annual checks on taxi drivers, but they are constantly watching the arrest and check them against the names of the drivers, said the press-Secretary of the taxi, limousine and Paratransit Association John tea.
Mauriello says that may be true, as the VICAP database, includes only crimes. Many sexual crimes and traffic violations that could disqualify the candidates of the driver’s misconduct, not in the database, he said.
The application changes that will take several weeks to become active, roll out first in the USA then move to other countries. Riders will see the shield that they can touch by sending the app to another screen with safety tips, Instructions on how to easily and quickly share information with others to ride, and a button to call 911. When the 911 button is pressed, the riders immediately to their location to convey to managers, helping riders traveling in unfamiliar areas.
Uber is testing its new possibilities with the Denver 911 system, which automatically sends the location of the rider and the driver and vehicle to the dispatch center. Says uber location information from smartphones is better than that used in 911 centers, which relies on triangulation from multiple cell phone towers.
Evelyn Bailey, Executive Director of the national Association of state 911 Administrators, said that there is no evidence that smartphones more information about the location of the mobile carriers, but according to the study by the Federal communications Commission. She said that the two-step uber calling through the app may not be intuitive for people, and she’d rather they call 911 using the keypad.
She also said, uber system has great potential, although she would like to see the test results before passing judgment. “If in fact it does not deliver what it promises, it could be very useful to call the public,” she said. “But if not, then I think that’s the problem.”
Uber says people can always call 911 using the keypad.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
