It’s a sign of the times. In an effort to continue to flatten the curve, Uber announced that that it will now require certain riders to take a masked selfie in order to request a ride. The rule goes into effect at the end of the month in the U.S. and Canada.
The ride share company has required drivers to wear masks and provide proof via selfies since mid-May. Now they feel the rule should be a two-way street.
“We firmly believe that accountability is a two-way street,” wrote Sachin Kansal, Uber’s global head of safety product, in a blog post on the company’s website.
Why only some riders and not all?
As of now, the selfie requirement will only be for riders who have been reported by drivers as not wearing a mask or face covering. If the person follows the rules after that initial selfie for their entire ride, they won’t be required to take the selfie again on the next request.
If a person violates the rule multiple times, they may face deactivation of their account.
“We have definitely taken action, including taking people off the platform, both from the rider and driver side,” Kansal said.
For those that request rides for someone else, the person who will ultimately take the ride will have to take the photo before getting into the vehicle.
The Uber app uses object detection technology to determine if a person is in fact wearing a mask. This technology has been pretty efficient when it comes to drivers, because of other requirements within the driver side portion of the app. But, it may take some time for it to roll out smoothly for passengers.
As of now, Uber has implemented their mask requirement indefinitely and there is no word on if the selfie requirement will follow suit.