Uber unveils 911 trial feature for Naples riders

Uber is taking steps to make people safer in Naples, by unveiling a new trial feature that would connect a rider to a 911 dispatcher on the Uber app screen in an emergency situation.

Maribel Vera, of Naples, uses Uber to get to work and said she had an uncomfortable car ride three weeks ago with a Naples Uber driver. She later reported him.

“I was like, ‘ugh that’s uncomfortable,’ I just didn’t like it I stayed quiet the entire ride until I got to my destination,” Vera said.

When a user presses the 911 button: your location, name and Uber driver’s license plate will be automatically shared with the dispatcher.

Vera and Valaree Maxwell, an Uber driver in Naples, praised the new feature.

“I think it’s a great idea for anybody who feels unsafe for whatever reason I think they need to be able to have that feature,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell added women told her stories of somewhat unsavory experiences with other Uber drivers.

“I’ve had quite a few actually that have felt unsafe men have put their hands on their knees or rubbed their knees or rubbed their back or made insinuations that made them very very uncomfortable,” Maxwell said.

The new feature allows the rider to alert authorities with a few taps on the screen.

“I would feel a lot safer I know that there’s somebody who will answer me on the end of the line and I won’t feel alone on the ride by myself — when I ride by myself,” Vera said.

Five other cities, including Denver, Co., and Charleston, S.C., are testing the advanced safety button.