Taxi hailing app, Uber relaunched its on on-trip ‘24x7 Safety Helpline’ in Sri Lanka in an effort to ensure and boost the safety of riders.

The feature allows riders to access the helpline at any time during a trip and directly speak to a member of the trained safety team.  The feature that was launched in February this year and was suspended soon after due to the island wide curfew imposed to contain the Covid-19.

The announcement comes in the wake of a series of complaints on safety and billing issues made by passengers on social media after failing numerous attempts in directly contacting Uber to address their grievances. 

“Safety is our biggest priority at Uber and we constantly evaluate our measures to raise the bar by integrating the feedback we receive from our riders. It is live in Sri Lanka and can be accessed by riders at any time of the day or night should they need urgent assistance during a trip,” said Uber Head of Central Operations South Asia, Pavan Vaish in a statement announcing the relaunch of the hotline.

“This additional level of security reiterates our commitment to doing everything we can to help keep everyone safer on our platform,” he added.

According to Uber, the feature has been reactivated after having carried out and ensuring quality checks so that the company can gain rider feedback on a regular basis.

The relaunched ‘Safety Helpline’ can be accessed in case of an urgent or non-emergency issue. Such instances include the reporting of a dispute with a driver, a car break-down or other such issues. 

Riders can connect with Uber’s Sri Lanka-based safety experts who are available 24x7 via the app that has the Safety Helpline listed under the safety toolkit banner. 

Uber stressed that the Safety Helpline support number is not a replacement for 119 but is a helpful avenue for riders and drivers to have access urgent support. 

In case of an emergency, Uber said it encourages riders to use the SOS button or the national emergency line (119) in the event of a safety-related incident.