If you get an Uber and your driver speeds, it isn’t your word against theirs if you want to complain. That’s because Uber has announced that it’s started to use gyrometer and GPS data to keep an eye on the behaviour of its drivers.
In a blog post, Joe Sullivan, Uber’s Chief Security Officer, explains the new scheme:
Gyrometers in phones can measure small movements, while GPS and accelerometers show how often a vehicle starts and stops, as well as its overall speed. If a rider complains that a driver accelerated too fast and broke too hard, we can review that trip using data. If the feedback is accurate, then we can get in touch with the driver. And if it’s not, we could use the information to make sure a driver’s rating isn’t affected.
The idea is to gradually improve safety and customer satisfaction. Though there’s no word on whether or not you might be able to actively seek out a faster driver if that’s what you’re after.
[Uber]
Image by Noel Tock under Creative Commons licence