By: Sarah Boutin
With news coming out about the dangers of ride share apps, new safety features are being developed for users to utilize, especially for users like college students.
Because not all college students possess a car so they must look for other transportation options. They turn to Lyft and Uber. These ride shares can be affordable, depending on destination. People without cars or rather not drive for a particular reason rely on the ride share services. Unfortunately, incidents of dangerous situations involving passengers have been reported.
In late March, Samantha Josephson, a student from North Carolina. She accepted a ride under the impression it was the Uber driver she requested. But it was not. She had disappeared.
It was later discovered that Samantha was kidnapped and murdered. According to the news outlet The Verge, Uber’s Chief Legal Officer Tony West told NBC “We are heartbroken about what has happened. For us, it’s a reminder that we have to constantly do everything we can to raise the bar on safety.”
In response, Uber has implemented a push notification to verify the license plate of the vehicle users are waiting for. Lyft also upped security procedures by adding continuous background checks on drivers and will have to show a real time photo with their driver’s license. Lyft will permanently ban any users fraudulently posing as another driver.
College life is a fun time for many students who like to go out with friends and make lasting memories. Venturing off campus to experience the city night life aesthetic is one to behold, but many dangers come with it. Ride share companies helps many people get where they need to go, but students should always be careful if using these companies.
Although Uber and Lyft are making new strides in safety parameters of their business models, the passengers need to make sure they are safe. A good rule of thumb with ride share is to ride in a group, especially if intoxicated. Another effort for safety is for users to give live updates to their friends of their location. Sometimes these methods are difficult to accomplish but doing so can give you peace of mind.
Not all drivers are bad, and some look to give customer satisfaction. But knowing of all possible dangers is important to the safety of those who use these ride share services.
College Lifestyle 