Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of the ride-hailing company, last month said an emergency button that connected riders directly with police via 911 would soon be added to Uber’s mobile app. That button is now incorporated within the app so riders can quickly call police for help in an emergency.
An additional safety measure Khosrowshahi announced last month is also now being tested in several cities: the Uber app’s ability to automatically send a rider’s name and location to 911 dispatchers, which would come in handy if the rider could not speak. Also transmitted: information about the Uber vehicle itself.
That pilot project is now active in five cities — Denver, Charleston, S.C., Chattanooga and Tri-Cities, Tenn., Naples, Fla., Louisville, Ky. — and Nashville, Tenn. will get it in the next few days, Uber told USA TODAY.
“Every second counts in an emergency,” said Sachin Kansal, Uber’s director of safety products, in a statement. “We want to make sure our users get help quickly with accurate information if faced with an emergency situation.”