Uber to Require Some Riders Take Mask Selfie Before Booking

Jamie P., Tech Times 01 September 2020, 10:09 am

America's top car-hailing service Uber has modified rules when it comes to choosing passengers for a ride. Since it's pandemic, the car app applies the 'No mask selfie, no ride' on its platform. This means that once a driver notifies Uber that its current passenger has no mask, the passenger will not be accommodated to have an Uber driver for its next book once a mask selfie is not taken.

Uber: Wear your mask

Since May, Uber has already implemented a rule to all its passengers or drivers to wear a face mask when riding their cars. It even implemented a Go Online Checklist to make the rider and the driver agrees on its checklist, such as wearing a face covering, keeping windows rolled down when possible, and have no one sitting in the front seat.

So far, Uber made a great job of having 99.5% of trips having no reported mask issues.

To be stricter with the implementation, the modified rule is announced. But, this rule doesn't apply to all.

As explained, you will only be required by the car service to submit your mask selfie once you've been reported by your past drivers of not wearing masks from your last rides. Once you fail to submit a selfie, Uber will prohibit you from riding on the next Uber rides.

Using their in-app technology, CNN reported that all the reported riders will have to do the required measure to ensure that wearing mask protocol would be followed.

The app uses an object detection technology that monitors whether a person is wearing a face covering or not.

"We firmly believe that accountability is a two-way street," Sachin Kansal, Uber's global head of safety product, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. "That's why we're expanding the same technology to riders, too."

Wear your mask, people!

It is no longer a new rule to ask for the public to wear their own face masks or coverings, especially when outside or in a public place or transportation.

Since Uber is still classified as public transport, it is required to follow the same rules applied to other establishments. And the company has been expanding its rules since day one of quarantine.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), face masks are likely to prevent the spread of COVID-19, especially in a public place.

It is a recommended simple barrier to stop any respiratory droplets from falling into the face or any items of another person that could transmit the virus.