Over a month after a passenger was allegedly raped by one of its drivers in the capital city of New Delhi, Uber announced that it has teamed up with screening company First Advantage to implement more stringent background checks on all its drivers.
Uber says in a blog post that its arrangement with First Advantage will cover address verification, a local criminal court search, and a national criminal database search — over and above standard transport license checks for its drivers.
The company says that it has been pilot testing the new screening process in recent weeks, and that thousands of driver-partners are being screened and re-verified in several Indian cities, including New Delhi.
The announcement comes less than a week after the woman in the New Delhi case sued Uber in a US court, accusing the company of failing to ensure passenger safety. Uber was banned for a month in New Delhi when the case made news, and resumed services in the city only a few days ago.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
➤ Safer Together [Uber Blogs]
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.