Uber has started piloting its 911 integration in Tampa Bay. On Wednesday morning, the expansion of the ride-hailing service's emergency button went live throughout Pinellas County.
Previously, if riders used the emergency button during an Uber trip, the app would surface their real-time location, car make/model and license plate number, which they'd then have to verbally convey to the 911 dispatcher. The new integration technology expedites this process. With the feature, all of the information that 911 needs is automatically transmitted to the dispatcher's computer once a rider taps the emergency button.
"At Uber, we believe technology can help make the roads safer than ever before. Every second counts in an emergency, and we want to make sure our users get help quickly with accurate information if faced with an emergency situation," said Nirveek De, safety products lead for the ride-hailing service, in a statement.
The app's emergency button debuted in May across a handful of cities. Uber and software company RapidSOS have since joined forces on the 911 integration pilot with local emergency authorities; Naples was among the seven initial launch locations.
"We'll be monitoring this pilot closely and evaluating further expansion," Uber wrote of the technology in a blog post.
This article appears in Aug 16-23, 2018.