Uber just added a new tool for riders who find themselves in uncomfortable situations during a trip.
The ride-hailing giant launched "On-Trip Reporting" on Wednesday, which lets people discreetly alert the company about non-emergency safety incidents in real-time. For example, users can document behavior like reckless driving or inappropriate questions as a trip is in progress and send details to Uber's safety team while it's happening.
The incident reporting tool is located in the app's Safety Toolkit. Someone from Uber's safety team will follow up with both the passenger and the driver at some point after the ride has ended.
Drivers who are reported receive educational materials on how to properly conduct themselves during trips. The information in the report is anonymized so the driver won't know which rider reported it.
Uber will use the data to develop other safety solutions for passengers.
Lots of things can go wrong when riding in an enclosed space with a stranger. In fact, there were at least nine incidents of murder and 58 people killed in crashes, according to Uber's first study detailing incidents in 2019.
Hundreds of drivers and riders have come forward alleging sexual assault during trips, and several lawsuits have been lodged against the San Francisco-based firm by people saying they were raped or assaulted by drivers.