Why Uber's 'security measures' are not foolproof

The news of the alleged rape of a 25-year-old woman professional by an Uber cab driver in Gurgaon has shattered the sense of security that users feel while using such services.

In a statement, Uber continues to claim that providing safety to their users is their prime objective, "Safety is Uber’s highest priority and we take situations like this very seriously". But as the heinous incident has shown, there are gaping holes in the radio cab service provider's claims.

In fact one of the key marketing pitches that radio cab services such as Uber etc use is that the users are assured of safety while travelling in their cabs.

The Delhi incident shows how the safety measures assured by Uber are not foolproof.

Uber claims that they use GPS to track the cab. The users too know the whereabouts of their ride while waiting for it to arrive. 

But Uber doesn't own the cabs in its fleet and doesn't ensure that the vehicles have GPS installed. Thus, they only keep a tab on the cabs' movement through the GPS on the driver's phone and the Uber app. 

Thus, it seems like all the driver has to do to disappear from the system is just delete the app or switch the phone off. The accused in the Gurgaon rape case had gone off the radar by turning his phone off. 

Uber also said in its statement, "In India, we work with licensed driver-partners to provide a safe transportation option, with layers of safeguards such as driver and vehicle information, and ETA-sharing to ensure there is accountability and traceability of all trips that occur on the Uber platform".

Uber users can see the name, photo and phone number of the driver when booking a cab. However, in this case, the driver's phone was not registered in his name making it harder to trace him.

Uber has thus massively failed its users by making them believe that its services can be fully trusted and sadly, it has taken this horrifying incident to puncture its tall claims.