Uber Technologies is making headlines today. On Thursday, Uber disclosed a new in-app messaging feature that allows riders to send text messages to their driver once a ride is booked, and vice versa.
For those who don’t know, messaging your Uber driver used to be quite the hassle; you would first have to select “contact” and then “chat,” which would then take you out of the app and into a new texting conversation. Once you were there, the rider would be able to send a quick message to their driver about the location they would like to get picked up at or other details that would make the process easier.
However, thanks to the latest addition to the app, a chat feature will now pop up in the Uber app once you schedule a ride. It will show the name of your driver, vehicle type, and plate number at the top of the messaging screen. To top it off, you will be able to see received/read receipts for sent messages.
In regards to drivers, Uber has asked them to avoid texting while driving, and they should only be messaging their riders after they have stopped moving. It’s not just the driver’s responsibility though, the company itself will be taking action against texting and driving. The received messages will be read aloud to drivers, and, to prevent distraction, they can tap a “thumbs up” emoji response to acknowledge a message.
“In many of our markets, SMS isn’t actually available for us, we don’t have the technology in place,” said Jeremy Lermitte, who is Uber’s product manager. “That’s especially true in some of our key markets like Brazil and India. And then, in other emerging markets where we do offer SMS, we don’t have the technology in place to anonymize the personal contact info, so the rider and driver are actually sharing their personal contact information in some of those markets.”
Featured Image: twitter
