You’ve heard traumatic stories of ridesharing passengers who get harassed by the driver and the like. These levels, actually, and not the typical in-car robberies since rideshare cars are undeniably way safer than cabs and taxis.
But the harassment incidents involving drivers with their passengers are quite alarming, huh? Rideshare drivers find it easier to commit such acts because they own the car and are not working under a taxi operator. Plus, most of these drivers are more privileged than taxi drivers, perhaps coming from the middle class or higher tiers of society, giving them more freedom to do so.
They may not be working under an operator, but their services are part of the platforms like Uber. Are those platforms taking action? Definitely.
In fact, there’s the good news. Uber India is leading the world in ensuring that no passenger, particularly teenagers, becomes a victim of harm while on a rideshare service.
Uber’s arm in India has recently launched the “Uber for Teens” service to ensure the safety of teenagers in the country whenever they hail a ride with Uber. Uber cannot allow its image to be tarnished just because of these incidents.
Like how parents can set up parental controls on gaming consoles like PlayStation or over on Facebook, Uber for Teens will allow dads and moms to set up a “Teens” account.
Whenever their teenage son or daughter needs a ride to school, prom, or a hangout with friends, it is not the child who requests the ride but the parents on their behalf. Plus, parents can track their rides in real time. Imagine having someone else see updates on an online shopping delivery you requested.
Through this feature, parents will also receive detailed ride summaries. Once this service fully rolls out, features such as GPS tracking and an in-app emergency button designed to maintain the safety of children aged 13 to 17, or maybe even up to 19, will be in place.
Prabhjeet Singh, Uber India and South Asia’s president, talked about the new service, “We recognize the unique transportation challenges faced by teenagers and their families in India. With Uber for Teens, we are committed to addressing these challenges by providing a service that parents can trust and that teens will find easy and cool to use.”
Teenagers are among the largest users of the Uber platform. According to statistics, in 2017, there is 37 percent of teenagers in the United States aged 16 to 24 years old, who has used Uber.
This is not the first time Uber for Teens is happening. Uber for Teens is also present in the United States and Canada.
Uber India’s Uber for Teens will roll out in 37 cities, including Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Lucknow, and Bhubaneswar.