Have bad Uber rating? You may lose access to the cab-hailing app

In a step to ensure that the driver partners are secure during their job, Uber has launched its Driver Safety Toolkit, a set of in-app safety features. They have also further strengthened their community guidelines. As mentioned in a press statement, users below a certain minimum rating will lose their access to the Uber app. There will be multiple notifications regarding the same before the user is barred from using the app.

For the uninitiated, as one gives stars to the Uber driver partner after a trip, the driver partner also rates the passenger. The company said that India was the first market where the emergency button was launched, which will be part of a larger Safety Toolkit in the app. It will allow driver partners access to all possible protective measures under the shield icon.

There are three parts to the safety updates by Uber. Like passengers, the driver partners can now share their trip details with loved ones. One can keep a track of the trip with that feature. There is the aforementioned emergency button that allows drivers to connect with law enforcement during an emergency situation. There is also the speed limit feature that will allow the driver partner to keep a tab on the speed limit, allowing them to drive at a safe pace.

Prabhjeet Singh, Head of Cities, India & South Asia said that there can be no Uber without the driver partners, who are at the centre of the cab-hailing service's business. "There can be no Uber without driver partners - they are at the centre of Uber's business. The national roll-out of an emergency button and the 'share trip feature' reiterates our commitment to their safety," he said.

"The updated guidelines extend the same behavioural standards to the riders that Uber has for the driver partners... these guidelines will help us to foster mutual respect between riders and drivers," Singh further added.

Singh said that they are also notifying a small number of riders who have been consistently rated poorly. "We are notifying a small number of riders, who have consistently been rated poorly by drivers over a prolonged period of time, to improve their behaviour. If that doesn't happen, a handful of riders could lose access to the Uber application," he added.

He also mentioned that while this change will not affect many riders, it will, however, remind a select few what is expected of them.

(Edited by Anwesha Madhukalya)

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