Uber To Develop Tech To Ensure Drivers Wear Face Masks

Given the current coronavirus pandemic, there are people in certain industries that will no doubt have to meet and interact with many strangers on a daily basis. This includes Uber drivers who during the course of the day, come into contact with different people which does put them in a situation where it increases the likelihood of them catching the disease.

It also means that there is a chance that they themselves could pass on the disease as they could be an asymptomatic carrier. Uber is requiring that its drivers wear face masks, but the question is, how can they enforce it? It turns out that they can as Uber has been revealed that they are working on technology that will ensure that drivers wear masks while fetching passengers.

How exactly they plan on doing this is unclear, but given that Uber already has facial verification capabilities via its “Real Time ID-check” feature, perhaps they might leverage that to detect if drivers are wearing face masks, and also maybe giving customers a chance to report drivers who aren’t.

In a statement made to CNN Business, Uber was quoted as saying, “As countries reopen, Uber is focused on safety and proceeding with caution. Today, we continue to ask riders to stay home if they can, while shipping safety supplies to drivers who are providing essential trips. At the same time, our teams are preparing for the next phase of recovery, where we will all have a role to play.”

Tyler Lee
Categories: Transportation
Tags: Coronavirus, covid-19, Uber