Lyft ramps up driver and passenger safety efforts

Ride-share firm Lyft is seeking to head off concerns over passenger safety by requiring its drivers to take a ‘community safety’ course. Lyft has partnered with non-profit anti-sexual assault organisation Rainn, and drivers will be required to complete an education course designed by both parties. Riders and drivers must agree to Lyft’s community guidelines on behaving with care and respect. Passengers reported for violating these will be removed from the platform while drivers will be required to take add
September 19, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Ride-share firm 8789 Lyft is seeking to head off concerns over passenger safety by requiring its drivers to take a ‘community safety’ course.

Lyft has partnered with non-profit anti-sexual assault organisation Rainn, and drivers will be required to complete an education course designed by both parties. Riders and drivers must agree to Lyft’s community guidelines on behaving with care and respect. Passengers reported for violating these will be removed from the platform while drivers will be required to take additional safety courses.

According to a blog %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external post false http://blog.lyft.com/ false false%>, Lyft is now offering a ‘smart trip check-in’ service where - if a journey appears to have unexplained delays - its team will ask the driver and passenger whether they need support.

Lyft co-founder John Zimmer says all safety features in the app will be available in a single place, including a way to dial 911. Emergency assistance from the app displays vehicle information and the number plate, making it easier to inform dispatchers if necessary.

“We've known since the beginning that as part of our mission, we must heavily invest in safety,” he continues. “We continue to welcome accountability and partnership to best protect our rider and driver community.”

In February, Lyft formed a community safety programme committee led by general counsel Kristin Sverchek, and former US secretary of transportation Anthony Foxx. It has introduced 14 new safety features this year including increased anti-fraud measures and requiring detailed feedback for any rides less than four stars.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • AVs could make driving ‘more dangerous’: report
    May 23, 2018
    Automated vehicles (AVs) could make driving more dangerous – that is the stark suggestion from a new report by the International Transport Forum (ITF). The report - Safer Roads with Automated Vehicles? – casts doubt on claims that 90% of road deaths could be avoided because the introduction of AVs would eliminate human error. ITF says such claims are at best “untested”.
    Read More
  • Car2Go to halt carsharing operations in Toronto
    May 29, 2018
    Car-sharing group Car2Go is suspending operations in Toronto, Canada, because of what it sees as restrictive regulations introduced by the city’s authorities. Toronto City Council is introducing its own free-floating carshare pilot on June 1 which Car2Go says makes its service ‘inoperable’. In a letter to users, Car2Go’s North America CEO Paul DeLong says that companies taking part in Toronto’s new pilot will be charged $1,499.02 per vehicle and that many streets which operate a residents’ parking permit
    Read More
  • RAC Foundation: UK drivers receive 12 million penalties annually
    October 25, 2017
    Up to 12 million driving license holders receive a penalty notice each year – the equivalent of one every 2.5 seconds; meaning as many as a third (30%) of Britain's 40 million drivers now receive a penalty notice annually. The findings come from the Automated Road Traffic Enforcement: Regulation, Governance and Use - for the RAC Foundation by Dr Adam Snow, a lecturer in criminology at Liverpool Hope University. The penalty notices include the Fixed Penalty Notice (a criminal penalty issued
    Read More
  • 10th ITS European Congress app development contest
    January 17, 2014
    ITS Finland, host of the 10th ITS European Congress, has launched the ‘ITS in your pocket’ app development competition, providing an opportunity for companies, teams and individuals to compete for a total prize sum of €100,000 (US$136,000). Apps should provide solutions to improve transport safety, efficiency and sustainability, make transport systems more comfortable and should focus on the user needs.
    Read More

Highlighted Content