Uber sends out another SOS in India

Ever since the alleged rape of an Uber passenger by a driver, the global giant’s ride in India has been rough. From bans to threats of an IP address block, Indian transport authorities threw one twist after another at Uber as well as its homegrown rival Ola, taking the sheen off the on-demand taxi business.

Uber, on its part, has been making overtures to persuade consumers and authorities that it is serious about safety. The latest, revealed today, is a new India-only feature for emergencies. It can connect you to the local police immediately over the phone and Uber’s backend system will simultaneously send another SOS alert to the police control room that responds to emergencies. The control room will see real-time trip information on a dedicated screen.

This new functionality to Uber’s SOS button introduced earlier hasn’t gone live yet. The company just finished beta-testing it in Kolkata, one of the few states which didn’t enforce a ban on ride-hailing apps after the rape incident.

Dodging the real issue

Before this, Uber had applied to transport authorities for a radio taxi license. Uber now has an India Safety Lead, Deval Delivala. It tied up with First Advantage for background checking, which it touted as “additional layers of screening.” And then, it introduced two buttons in the app: one is to send an SOS alert, and the other sends the status of the trip to friends or family. The latest SOS feature improves upon the SOS button.

“The instantaneous alert contains critical information of the relevant trip and is projected on a dedicated screen in the control room of local law enforcement agency. This advanced tech upgrade to the existing SOS feature enables the police to act within moments of being alerted,” an Uber blog post announces.

The real issue is whether Uber will comply with licencing regulations just like any public transport service, or continue to maintain that it only connects consumers with its “driver partners.”