Lyft intends to make trips much safer with 911 panic button in the app

Lyft revealed brand-new functions for its app on Tuesday focused on enhancing traveler security. Along with a button in the app that lets riders dial 911, the ride-hailing business is making the image of chauffeurs’ license plates larger.

“Lyft is relentlessly focused on finding new ways to further strengthen safety measures on our platform,” Mary Winfield, Lyft’s head of trust and security, stated in a post.

The relocation follows ratings of attacks, kidnappings and rapes have actually presumably been committed by Lyft and Uber chauffeurs. A report by CNN in 2015 discovered more than 120 Uber and Lyft chauffeurs supposedly sexually attacked their guests. And a handful of states — consisting of California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Texas — have formerly released examinations into Uber and Lyft, declaring they regularly stop working to evaluate chauffeurs properly and have actually employed chauffeurs with criminal histories.

People impersonating chauffeurs is likewise a problem. Just last month a trainee from the University of South Carolina was presumably killed by a guy who stated he was her Uber chauffeur. And in San Francisco, Orlando Vilchez Lazo — a guy identified the “rideshare rapist” — was implicated of sexually attacking 4 females in different occurrences. Lazo was a Lyft chauffeur, however since of continuous lawsuits, it’s uncertain if he was impersonating a motorist throughout these occurrences or utilizing the app.

San Francisco released a public awareness project in September called “Rideshare with Care” prompting guests to confirm the license plate of their Uber or Lyft flight prior to getting in. 

Lyft’s brand-new functions are focused on this exact same concept of getting riders to examine their chauffeur’s license plate. And, if something fails, they’ll have the ability to call the authorities rapidly with the 911 panic button. Lyft revealed last month that it’d likewise run background examine its chauffeurs on an annual basis.

Uber presented comparable security functions over the previous year, consisting of an in-app emergency situation 911 button and yearly background examine its chauffeurs. People utilizing Uber’s service can likewise anonymize their pickup and drop-off places so chauffeurs will not have the ability to keep specific journey place details after the reality.