South Africa: Here Are Uber Safety Tips For You!

A lot of negative experiences with Uber drivers in South Africa have been reported plenty of times. We hear about it and we see it on social media.

This week, Uber is joining the Global Safety Community to participate in the UN’s Global Road Safety Week. Uber values the safety of riders and driver-partners before, during and after every trip and this is why Uber continually improves their safety features, the world over. On the driver side, driver-partners and their vehicles are pre-screened, empowering riders with the knowledge that they are being transported in quality and vetted vehicles by responsible drivers.

But there are also things that riders can do to ensure their safety. Riders are urged to follow these safety tips:

Know your ride: Riders should always take the time to review the safety features available to them in the app, remember Uber rides can only be requested through the Uber app, so users should never accept street hail solicitations from those claiming to be with Uber.
When riders are ready to request a ride, it is important for them to avoid spending unnecessary time outside alone with their phone in their hand. Instead, it best for them to wait indoors until the app shows their driver has arrived.

Know your driver: When a driver accepts a rider’s request, the rider is able to see the driver’s first name, photo, license plate number, type of vehicle as well as the vehicle colour. You’ll be able to see this from within the app itself – on the map. The rider should always make sure that those match before they enter the vehicle and ensure they ask for the drivers name when they open the door.

Sharing Trip Details: Uber’s technology has made it possible for all trips to be tracked using GPS. While en route the rider is able to monitor their own trip in the app as well as share their Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) with their loved ones. This will help friends and family keep track of where they are on the trip and they can do this without even downloading the Uber app!

In-app Help: The tool is designed to help riders get a prompt response to their queries in the shortest time possible. The support system can be accessed by navigating to the “Help’’ section on the menu, which helps riders and driver-partners alike to communicate their concerns they might have during a trip and get an instant response.

Follow Intuition: When using Uber the rider should be aware of their surroundings, if they feel like something’s not right they should trust their instincts and use their best judgement. Riders should be cautious when sharing any personal information and should always confirm that the driver-partner is in fact the one they saw on the app, and if they ever feel they’re in an emergency situation, they are advised to alert the local emergency services immediately.
There’s no need for riders to share their phone number or other contact information with their driver. If a rider and driver need to contact each other, the Uber app automatically anonymizes both phone numbers to protect everyone’s privacy.

Give Feedback: Riders should always give feedback on how their trip went. This helps improve the Uber experience for everyone, maintain a high quality service and provide accountability. Uber has a 24/7 global support team which reviews the feedback and follows up with appropriate action regarding reports of conduct that violates the Community Guidelines.

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Uber constantly develops new technologies to ensure safety before, during, and after every ride which was not possible before. Uber is committed to continuously help in educating riders and driver-partners on how to use the technology by providing the tips to improve their safety on every ride.

If you are in South Africa, you can keep in touch and up to date with Uber South Africa on their social media pages; Facebook: /Uber_RSA
Twitter: @Uber_RSA
Instagram: @Uber_RSA

Be safe!

*Press Release*