RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Transport App companies have taken initiatives to increase users’ safety. Last week, Uber released data on harassment cases and traffic accidents. Now, 99 has announced new features, such as allowing audio recording on trips.
Just like Uber, 99 will allow passengers and drivers to record what happens inside the car to share the material with third parties if they find it necessary. According to the company, the feature will be released to everyone later this month.
The service will also provide the 99 Woman option to female drivers to serve only female passengers. The function aims to provide greater safety to the company’s partners. The platform will also feature the option of blocking specific people and, thus, preventing them from meeting again in future trips.
A further change to be implemented in the platform will fill out the passenger’s profile with the name entered in the Registration of Individuals (CPF) to ease identification by drivers. Finally, the company will perform a random identity check and will ask some passengers to take a photo before starting their journey.
In addition, 99 published a notice inviting passengers and drivers to cooperate with the protection features of the service. The text recalls the significance of actions such as checking vehicle data, keeping the register updated and rating the trip.
The notice states that the platform connects 20 million people, including 600,000 drivers, in approximately 1,600 Brazilian cities. And it recalls that, of all the trips taken in the service, 99.99 percent end with no issues.
“But we are not reassured by this number and we will remain committed to always promote more protection before, during and after trips,” says Thiago Hipólito, 99’s director of security.
Among the issues reported on the platform, 67 percent concern verbal abuse, which, in 99’s assessment, “could be avoided if mutual respect had prevailed”. The notice also points out measures taken by the company to curb the action of individuals using the service to commit crimes.
The company has a team of 150 specialists in technology, engineering, psychology, and public safety. In addition, its systems combine algorithms and artificial intelligence to perform checks on passengers and drivers.
As part of its action plan, 99 will carry out awareness campaigns on the Internet, its App and with the professionals who work in the 35 Casas99 (“Houses99”), which are centers in several cities with the capacity to serve a total of 10,000 people a day.