Uber
is quickly becoming one of the most popular forms of transportation throughout
the country. To make Uber safer and more trustworthy, it is using Information Technology
(IT) to prevent and limit dangerous driving. The use of IT in the Uber app can
now notify drivers when they are going too fast or when they brake too quickly.
While reading this article there
were a few points that stood out to me. One, there is no way to for Uber to know
some of the circumstances that would cause the new sensors to go off. For
example, in the article it talks about the new sensors going off when the uber
drivers brake too quickly. They see this as a way to prevent the drivers from tailgating
and driving too close to the car in front of them. In reality, there is no way
for Uber to know what the the cars around them were doing. If the car in front
of them brakes suddenly then the drivers will too. Another point that I really liked
in the article was the use of IT to improve the validity of the rating scale of
drivers in the Uber app. Now, Uber can check the validity of the ratings that
drivers get by tracking their path’s. If a driver was given an unfair rating by
a passenger Uber can now check the ride and see if what the passenger
complained about is true. On the other hand, Uber can also check up on its
drivers without them knowing. They have the ability to see their driving habits
and see if they can be trusted on the roads. A last point that I thought was
very interesting was the idea that in the next five to fifteen years there may
be cars that can drive themselves and are completely safe. The advancements in
technology through the years is amazing and just the thought of having a self
driven car is unheard of. Uber understands that humans can be unreliable and unpredictable
and the use of autonomous vehicles can make for an even safer and more trustworthy
driving environment.
I think the article could have done
a better job explaining the frequency of problems that has brought about these changes
in the safety features and assuring a safer ride for their passengers. Another
thing that I was thinking as I was reading this article is how much will all of
these additions and improvements cost and are they even worth the trouble of
implementing them? The last thing that I would like to know more about is what
is going to happen with all of the cabs that will now become even more sparse
than they already are. With all the new improvements to Uber in the future, the
use of Uber is going to go up while cabs slowly become overlooked and
forgotten. I think the future is bright for Uber and the future changes will be
key to their success.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/26/uber-monitoring-drivers-us-passenger-safety-houston
I found this article to be very interesting! As a user of Uber, I think the new safety features are a great use of IT, however, I agree that there could be some unforeseen problems. For one, how would the app connect with each individual car? And with lots of beeps and alerts coming from the phone while driving, I feel like that could cause a lot of distraction and even more of a chance for an accident. But if done properly I think that this could be very innovative and could make Uber the leader of personal driving. I believe that this would wipe out the taxi population, but then again, this may give taxi companies incentive to further their technology as well and become more like Uber. I also like the idea that Uber can check driver's ratings at any time and see what the complaints were about- this would help keep Uber safer and more reliable. This idea will be interesting to see take shape.
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