WEBVTT - Uber Adds Additional Safety Features

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<v Speaker 1>Uber wants to get serious about safety. I'm Rich Demiro.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Rich on Tech Daily. Uber just announced a

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of new initiatives to help make their rides safer.

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<v Speaker 1>Now talk about a technology that has changed our world.

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<v Speaker 1>I will never forget my first Uber ride. It was

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<v Speaker 1>March fifth, twenty twelve. Well, I didn't remember the date,

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<v Speaker 1>but I did remember I had my receipt in my email,

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<v Speaker 1>so I checked it out. I was headed to a

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<v Speaker 1>tech party in Santa Monica. I was living in West

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<v Speaker 1>LA and they were sending a new service to pick

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<v Speaker 1>me up. It was called Uber. I'd never heard of

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<v Speaker 1>it before, but it was a black town car that

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<v Speaker 1>was going to drive me to the party with kind

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<v Speaker 1>of like a chauffeur. Now, I'd lived in New York

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<v Speaker 1>City before that, so I knew what a black town

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<v Speaker 1>car service was like. But they were prohibitively expensive, so

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<v Speaker 1>I couldn't believe that this new service was going to

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<v Speaker 1>make that available to everyone. Now a lot has changed

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<v Speaker 1>since then. They added cheaper versions of the service like

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<v Speaker 1>Uber X and a bunch of others. But a fun

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<v Speaker 1>little fact for you. Back when Uber started, they actually

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<v Speaker 1>used to round down your total fare to make it

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<v Speaker 1>an even number like a flat ray. So my twenty

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<v Speaker 1>three dollars and eighty three cent fare, which was my

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<v Speaker 1>first one, became twenty three dollars flat just wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>reminist for a second. Now, let me tell you about

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<v Speaker 1>the changes coming to Uber all dealing with safety for starters.

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<v Speaker 1>Uber's making a lot of these safety features much easier

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<v Speaker 1>to find, especially during your ride, especially when you're on

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<v Speaker 1>that ride screen. So you can now set up to

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<v Speaker 1>five friends or family members as trusted contacts, and you're

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<v Speaker 1>going to be prompted to share your ride information with

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<v Speaker 1>them automatically at the start of every ride, so you

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<v Speaker 1>don't really have to think much about this now if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't need to do that. If you think that's

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<v Speaker 1>too much, There's also an option to only get the

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<v Speaker 1>prompt to share during nighttime rides, and of course all

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<v Speaker 1>the sharing is opt in. Uber's also adding some nine

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<v Speaker 1>to one to one functionality right into their app, so

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<v Speaker 1>if you need help during a ride, there will be

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<v Speaker 1>a one touch emergency button that will get you help,

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<v Speaker 1>that will connect you to nine one one. Uber's also

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<v Speaker 1>going to do a better job of showing your real

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<v Speaker 1>time location on a map on your screen on your phone,

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<v Speaker 1>so you know exactly where you are, and they're also

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<v Speaker 1>going to give it to you as an address, so

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<v Speaker 1>you can easily relay where you are to an emergency operator,

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<v Speaker 1>even if you're in an unfamiliar place. Drivers are going

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<v Speaker 1>to get those same features as passengers in case they

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<v Speaker 1>need help because it is a two way street. Uber

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<v Speaker 1>is also testing a feature that shares your location and

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<v Speaker 1>trip information automatically with nine one one operators. Now, this

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<v Speaker 1>is kind of tricky to do because it takes a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of integration with all the different systems nationwide, but

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<v Speaker 1>they're doing a pilot right now with this in Denver,

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<v Speaker 1>and the company says that up to ten thousand lives

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<v Speaker 1>could be saved each year if responders get to a

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<v Speaker 1>nine one one caller just one minute faster. That's pretty incredible.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's another big one I think a lot of Uber

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<v Speaker 1>passengers will appreciate when it comes to background checks on drivers.

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<v Speaker 1>Uber is going to now start doing a recheck of

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<v Speaker 1>drivers every year, both criminal and DMV rechecks of their drivers.

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<v Speaker 1>Plus they're going to use some new technology that sort

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<v Speaker 1>of proactively notify Uber if one of their drivers is

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<v Speaker 1>involved in a new offense. This will include pending duy charges.

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<v Speaker 1>They're going to search public records for that. And I

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<v Speaker 1>think this is pretty smart because there is technology out

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<v Speaker 1>there to kind of tell Uber about this stuff. Now

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<v Speaker 1>they're being much more proactive about collecting it. Uber started

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<v Speaker 1>back in two thousand and nine, and really getting around

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<v Speaker 1>has never been the same. It has changed so many lives,

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<v Speaker 1>so many workflows, and I personally have used it all

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<v Speaker 1>over the world. I mean, I remember using it in Japan.

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<v Speaker 1>Couldn't even speak to the driver, but I was able

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<v Speaker 1>to fire up the app, figure out where my hotel

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<v Speaker 1>was and get home. We used it in China. Had

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<v Speaker 1>a little more trouble there because I used it one

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<v Speaker 1>way and I ended up not being able to get

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<v Speaker 1>back in Uber because the driver tried calling me to

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<v Speaker 1>coordinate some details and I could not speak the language,

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<v Speaker 1>so that didn't work out. But I did use it

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<v Speaker 1>in many cities, or I have used it in many

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<v Speaker 1>cities across the nation. It's pretty amazing when you know

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<v Speaker 1>you can land in a city and get an Uber

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<v Speaker 1>pretty much anywhere you need to go. I've taken it

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<v Speaker 1>to work super early when my car's in the shop.

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<v Speaker 1>It is really unbelievable. And hopefully these safety improvements will

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<v Speaker 1>make the platform even more trustworthy moving forward. Thanks so

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<v Speaker 1>much for listening to the podcast. If you like what

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<v Speaker 1>I'm doing here, please rate and review it in the

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<v Speaker 1>iTunes store or in the Apple Podcasts app. That way

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<v Speaker 1>more people discover it. I'm Rich Jamai. You can always

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<v Speaker 1>find links to everything I mentioned here on my website.

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<v Speaker 1>Just go to richon tech dot tv. I'll talk to

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<v Speaker 1>you real soon.