Southeast Asia’s formidable ride-hailing player has launched a ‘Safer Everyday Tech Roadmap’. The initiative aims to improve transport safety standards in the industry.
Revving Up Safety
Ever since cars hit the road, the number of incidents has not been few. With the introduction of technological tools such as the newly unveiled Roadmap, there is greater hope for safer roads.
Improving road safety necessarily means uprooting undesirable driving behaviour. This is what the Roadmap aims to do. Through the product enhancements, the Roadmap seeks to alter user safety habits. This could mean monitoring for driver fatigue and generating telematics reports for drivers to be more aware of their driving patterns and subsequently improve their driving. The company hopes that the initiative will yield long-term behavioural changes and ultimately reduce chances of incidents.
Four safety principles underpin the Roadmap. These are: Know who you ride with, Get help when you need it, Build new and safer habits, and protected at every touchpoint.
Working on principles of transparency and trust, customers are given peace of mind when they travel, knowing their driver has been screened and their family can locate their live location in the vehicle. Furthermore, the last point on protection reassures customers that transactions on the app are secure and robust to protect their data.
The ride-hailing giant is also committing to double investments in safety standards by the end of 2019.
Improving how the company’s drivers are plying the roads is just plain good business sense. The Roadmap furthers their current efforts in Southeast Asia to provide safe working conditions for drivers and good experiences for their customers. According to the co-founder, the company is “the only major player to invest in foundations like a 24/7 customer support centre, number masking and stringent driver background checks and verification”.
The Co-founder added that the company has witnessed tremendous growth because “safety remains a core party of [their] DNA”, explaining that the doubled investment into safety next year was not an easy decision to make.
The investment has already seen signs of positive returns. Since the third quarter of 2017, the company’s incident rates have plummeted by over 40%.
Co-driving Change with Government
Left hand drive, right hand drive, each country has its own set of transport regulations. The press release cites that a quarter of worldwide road traffic fatalities come from Southeast Asia. To ensure their drivers are safe regardless of which country they operate in, the company has partnered with government agencies across Southeast Asia. Through the partnership, the company hopes to tailor localised initiatives which address key government concerns.
In Cambodia and Myanmar, the company is working to provide education and training for especially the three-wheel driver community. In collaboration with he Ministry of Public Works and Transport in Cambodia and the police in Myanmar.
Tackling the notorious traffic and more in the Philippines, the company will work with the Philippine National Police, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and Drug Enforcement Agency. They will battle crime in the transport industry and train more drivers to be emergency first responders in an event of an accident or disaster.
Over in Thailand, the company is working with the government to protect women and young girls on their commute.
Here in Singapore, drivers can look out for better healthcare benefits in the form of access to a holistic healthcare program. It is designed with the Health Promotion Board to overcome occupational hazards of sitting and driving for prolonged hours.
The company will be adding to the partnerships in time to come.
