" ITREALMS: For standards sake, Uber introduces driver deactivation policy in Africa

Thursday, September 15, 2016

For standards sake, Uber introduces driver deactivation policy in Africa

In effort to keep high standards, Uber has introduced driver deactivation policy across the continent of Africa, reports ITRealms.

Uber Communications officer for Africa, Samantha Allenberg, confirmed this to ITRealms noted that the  higher the quality of the service, the more riders want to take trips, which in turn means more opportunities for drivers to earn money.

The goal of Uber, Allenberg said, is to provide reliable, affordable and safe transportation, which could only happen if there is trust on all sides; where riders feel safe with their driver and where drivers feel safe transporting their passengers.

Pointing out that it was easy to work with the first handful of drivers when Uber first launched in South Africa in 2013, but as we have launched more cities and grown in popularity across Africa, hence it is important that every driver using Uber app understands the processes and communicates in a consistent and transparent manner.

ITRealms gathered that sometimes Uber has to restrict a driver’s access to the app, but when that happens, even for a short period of time, it affects their earnings, therefore the company finds it extreme important to make its policy clearer.

Further ITRealms  reports that the Driver Deactivation Policy was designed with the best interests of drivers and riders in mind. According to Allenberg, it covers, among other items, issues that relate to quality, fraud, safety and discrimination.

On quality, Uber explained that the higher the quality of the service, the more riders want to take trips, which in turn means more opportunities for drivers to earn money. After every trip, riders and drivers rate each other with a star rating out of five - if that score is consistently low there is a problem. We also consider how regularly drivers cancel trips after accepting a booking as this leads to a poor experience for riders.

Uber decried fraud, describing it as bad for any business, so to keep riders coming back and to keep drivers driving, it’s important that services are fair and honest. That includes drivers understanding it is unacceptable to intentionally increase the time or distance of a trip.

Safety, Uber reiterated on both riders and drivers, includes respecting each other's privacy - so not contacting each other except through the Uber app - and obeying the laws of the road.

Uber also warned it will not tolerate discrimination of any sort, against riders or drivers, including on race, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, gender identity or age.

The transport app company pointed out that on the side of the driver, this also includes respecting the transportation of people with disabilities, including service animals.


“By maintaining high standards, riders will return time after time and drivers will keep as busy as they want. The Driver Deactivation Policy helps to ensure the best possible experience for everyone,” Uber declared in a press statement made available to ITRealms.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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