Business Latin America: Uber to let passengers record rides in effort to curb crime in Latin America
Business Latin America: Uber to let passengers
record rides in effort to curb crime in Latin America
Uber said on
Wednesday (Nov 6) that it will allow passengers and drivers to record audio of
their trips in Brazil and Mexico using a new feature in the app, as the
ride-hailing company copes with recurring safety concerns during its trips.
Uber has come under significant scrutiny over
passenger safety in markets such as the United States and India but it has
acknowledged particular problems in Latin America, where passengers and drivers
have been robbed and assaulted and some even murdered.
Uber said the audio recording feature will debut in
Latin America's two biggest markets but that it may eventually be rolled out
elsewhere in the region and possibly beyond.
While the company has not shared numbers, it has
said in financial statements since its IPO that there are "numerous and
increasing reports" of passengers or drivers in Latin America being
"victimised by violent crime, such as armed robbery, violent assault, and
rape, while taking or providing a trip on our platform."
By way of heading off privacy concern issues, Uber
said that the recordings will be encrypted and will not be played back in the
app. Instead, they can be sent to the company so that an employee can review
they if someone alleges misconduct or crime during the ride. Uber will also
share the recordings with law enforcement upon request.
The recordings function only begins if either
driver or passenger goes on the app and starts it.
Uber did not provide a timeline for the release of
the function, but said it would launch soon in both Brazil and Mexico, testing
it in a handful of cities at first.
"What we know is that as the economic issues
in Latin America gets worse, the tendency is for crime to also get worse,"
said Claudia Woods, who leads Uber in Brazil, in an interview.
Source: Channel News Asia