After a turbulent year for Uber, the ride-hailing app has vowed it will do more to protect passengers and secure its position in the UK.
The company came under fire when its licence renewal was rejected by three cities across the UK, including the Capital. If that wasn’t bad enough for the company, it faced a string of accusations over working conditions, sexual harassment and data breaches. Now, it vows to make a U-turn with its reputation.
Dara Khosrowshahi’s company has said the company will take more measures to protect its passengers, in a bid to secure its future position in the UK. The ride-hailing app has said it will work alongside police if and when incidents are reported, as well as introducing a 24 hour customer support hotline.
In addition to the extra support, customers will now also have access to more information about Uber’s drivers. This will include each of the 50,000 drivers’ licensing authority and private hire number.
Uber was first brought to a halt when Transport for London (TfL) rejected its bid to renew its licence across the UK’s Capital, deeming it not a ‘fit and proper’ operator. Following this, both Sheffield and York followed suit for similar reasons.
The licence renewal fight was not the only incident Uber had to deal with. The company had also faced a series of scandals, including poor working condition claims, sexual harassment accusations, not to mention the huge data breach that affected 57million people worldwide. Over the last year Uber has fought in court over its poor working conditions, as well as fighting against the three cities to renew the licence there.
However, Uber has seemingly turned a corner as it vows to make changes to its safety and working conditions. Already the company has said it will cap the number of hours drivers can work in one shift, after drivers had done 12 or more hours in one shift.
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“We recognise we can use our technology to go even further in setting a higher standard for private hire and other transport options. After listening to feedback from drivers, riders, local regulators and the police we’re introducing a number of new features and changes to enhance driver and passenger safety,” UK General Manager, Tom Elvidge said, according to Sky News.
The policy changes that Uber has said will be carried out have already been implemented in London, according to the company, whilst discussions were still on going with police elsewhere.
Despite the number of setbacks Uber has faced, the company has increased its revenue in the fourth quarter rising to $2.2bn.
