‘When a driver or a passenger activates that in-app SOS feature, it directly connects to AURA’s auto-dispatch platform. The nearest vetted private response vehicle autonomously is dispatched to the incident,’ says Justin Suttner, GM for AURA Sub-Saharan Africa.
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JEREMY MAGGS: Last week, I don’t know if you saw, but new laws that came into effect that will change how e-hailing services like Uber and Bolt operate. E-hailing services, as far as I understand it, will now be required to be clearly branded, fitted with a panic button, and drivers have got to keep their profiles updated for accurate identification.
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What does this mean in the broader South African context, where e-hailing vehicles have faced attacks from the so-called traditional taxi industry? In that respect, I’m joined by Justin Suttner, who’s the general manager for AURA Sub-Saharan Africa. AURA is the emergency tech platform that is powering Uber’s in-app safety button.
Justin, a very warm welcome to you. These new laws require panic buttons and branding, as I’ve just mentioned, you also will tell me it’s part of a bigger global trend. What is driving that?
JUSTIN SUTTNER: Thanks, nice to be here, Jeremy. The truth is that traditional public response services, 911s globally, but bringing it back to South Africa, 10111s typically do not utilise technology. They’re overstretched, and their capacity of the responses in terms of SAPS [South African Police Service] and your Johannesburg Metropolitan Police services are becoming quite a problem.
So, what consumers now have access to around the world and in South Africa, is an obtainable product and service in their pockets. That is essentially driving connectivity, which means that more consumers have access to technology.
What we’re seeing is that government and public responses are becoming more and more stretched, which essentially means they cannot get to the consumers in need when they need them.
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So, government is essentially playing catch-up. That is why we’re seeing a lot of these mandated, tech-enabled solutions in relation to how we bring on the private sector to assist.
JEREMY MAGGS: All right, let’s get practical now, how does the in-app safety button actually work? What happens if I push it?
JUSTIN SUTTNER: AURA essentially has a direct integration to Uber’s in-app SOS emergency response feature. What happens is that when a driver or a passenger activates that in-app SOS feature, it directly connects to AURA’s auto-dispatch platform. Then what happens is that the nearest vetted private response vehicle autonomously is dispatched and, is able to navigate through our technology to the incident, be it the driver or the passenger. Fully automated, fully reduced response times. Essentially, it’s a totally seamless and integrated response once someone activates an SOS feature within the Uber application currently.
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JEREMY MAGGS: One of the concerns that I would have is that branding the vehicles could also make drivers and passengers easier targets, given incidents that we have seen before where such vehicles have been singled out.
JUSTIN SUTTNER: Yes, Jeremy, it’s a delicate balance. On the one end, branding increases visibility and builds trust for the passenger. Very often, you don’t know if it’s an Uber driver pulling up.
On one end, it’s great for visibility. Unfortunately, the downside of that is that it potentially makes drivers a more identifiable target to criminals.
It is quite a delicate balance. I personally believe it is something that’s necessary, specifically in the consumer’s mind, just to give them that peace of mind that if you’re calling an Uber driver, that Uber driver is actually driving for Uber.
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JEREMY MAGGS: How difficult do you think it’s going to be to enforce these safety measures, and maybe even push it a little further and let me ask you, do regulators have the resources to monitor the compliance that is so urgently needed?
JUSTIN SUTTNER: Jeremy, I think compliance might take a little bit of time in terms of the regulators. The policy is fantastic, but in terms of execution and oversight on compliance from a regulator’s perspective, it might be fairly difficult. However, AURA has actually been in partnership with Uber for the last seven years. So in terms of two companies, Uber and AURA, coming together to offer their drivers and riders safety in a button that connects them to responders, that’s actually been in play for quite a long time.
Read: DoT conceptualising a sustainable empowerment model for taxi industry [Jan 2022]
From my perspective, Uber’s actually pretty well covered in terms of their corporate responsibility to their drivers. But I do think that it is a regulation that might be quite difficult to comply with. There are multiple areas that need oversight, specifically when it comes to the drivers, and the vehicles, and who is actually driving the vehicle. But outside of that, I think Uber is actually doing a terrific job already.
JEREMY MAGGS: Is this added cost of new compliance going to push up ride prices, do you think?
JUSTIN SUTTNER: Jeremy, I think that’s a very good point, and I think it will. I can’t speak on behalf of Uber, but specifically when it comes to physical panic buttons, the cost of the hardware and, obviously, the service – private security companies, unfortunately, don’t respond for free. I do think it will have a small incremental cost. But to be honest, I don’t think it will be anything significant. I actually think it will be welcomed by the general public at large.
JEREMY MAGGS: Thank you very much indeed. That’s Justin Suttner, who’s the general manager for AURA Sub-Saharan Africa. Appreciate your time.
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