Not many things revolutionised the transport sector in SA quite like ride-hailing services did. Uber has made millions of trips for South Africans looking for a ride, which is why the company has decided to take some responsibility in helping fight the current pandemic we’re facing by making sure patrons and drivers wear masks.
The ride-hailing company has launched a new feature in-app called the Mask Verification tool that will require passengers to take a picture of themselves wearing a mask when booking a ride. This feature is specific to people who have been reported for not wearing a mask when taking a trip beforehand.
This picture would need to clearly show the patron wearing a nose-and-mouth covering facemask, and will be uploaded directly to the app. But the same goes for drivers.
“Earlier this year, we built innovative technology designed to verify that drivers on Uber and delivery people on Uber Eats are wearing a mask. Before starting to drive passengers or deliver food, they are asked to take a selfie showing their mouth and nose are covered. To date, more than 3.5 million drivers and delivery people have completed more than 100 million mask verifications,” Uber details in a statement.
But now that the tool rolled out to patrons too, Uber is really clamping down on non-Masked people in society. Fighting the good fight of keeping the travelling population as healthy as possible, we guess?