Uber is advancing its on-road security for customers with an additional $1 fee that covers background checks, motor vehicle checks, driver safety education, and more.
Uber, the popular on-demand ride service is increasing the price of its UberX rides by $1 to improve the overall safety of its passengers and pedestrians on the road. The company is adding the extra dollar on all UberX rides that will be used toward security measures like background checks, driver education, motor vehicle checks, development of security features in the mobile app and insurance.
In an official blog post on the company's website last Thursday, Alex Priest, the community manager said that the latest move is a part of the company's commitment to overall safety on the road. The Safe Rides Fee will be applied on uberX ridesharing service across all cities in the U.S. The $1 fee will appear in a separate line on each receipt.
"The whole Uber team is committed to continue innovating, refining, and working diligently to ensure Uber is always the safest experience on the road," Priest wrote.
The company has been making various changes to its ridesharing service in order to attract more customers and help them get rides easier at anytime. Recently, Uber announced a new feature called Surge Drop, which helps users get rides at low rates when available. The new feature, launched last month, fights the company's own surge pricing, which sets higher fares during peak times to meet demand and supply by encouraging more drivers to get on roads.
Uber's effort to improve the security of its ridesharing service follows a recent incident that dragged the California-based transportation network company into a controversial case of a 6-year-old girl, identified as Sofia Liu, who was struck and killed by an Uber car-for-hire contractor on New Year's Eve. The driver, Syed Muzzafar, was jailed but the family is seeking damages from Uber and the driver.
Following the incident, Uber also revived its insurance policy for drivers. Previously, Uber drivers were not covered when a passenger was not on board, but the change in policy covers drivers even if they are not carrying a fare, ABC News reports.
The competition gets intense even as Uber hikes the price of its service by $1. Lyft, Uber's biggest competitor, announced a new Happy Hour pricing for riders to get cheap rides. The company said its new service, which was announced last month, can get discounts between 10 to 50 percent when there is less demand for rides. The feature is similar to Uber's Surge Drop.
