Uber Canada has announced new safety policies today, which includes the debut of what it is calling ‘Rider Deactivation’, or the banning of riders with bad behaviour on the ride-sharing platform.
This new policy will begin rolling out first this month in Toronto, then Canada “in the coming weeks,” explained the company in an email.
“Uber will begin notifying a small number of riders with low, consistently poor ratings from drivers that they must improve their behaviour or risk losing access to the Uber app. Uber will give riders multiple opportunities to improve their behaviour, with continuous low ratings resulting in the loss of access to the Uber app for up to six months,” says Uber Canada.
Also new is the launch of a Speed Limit Notifications feature for the Uber Driver app, which will alert drivers if they are speeding during their rides.
New driver screening criteria will also set to debut in the coming weeks, with the requirement for drivers to now have at least two years of driving history, instead of one. Currently, drivers must be 21 years of age to drive for Uber and also pass criminal record and driver abstract checks.
Another feature, called Ride Check, is set to debut as a pilot in Toronto later in May. The feature uses GPS and sensors on a smartphone to determine if a collision or accident occurs and is followed up with a notification prompt asking if they were in a crash or accident. If no response is made within 30 minutes, Uber says their safety team will call both driver and rider to check in.
“Uber is constantly looking at innovative ways to promote and support safety on its platform,” added the company.
