Yango Ride has launched a new passenger verification feature to help enhance the passenger – partner driver trust relationship by letting completed passenger profiles be displayed prior to the ride.
The new ‘passenger profile’ badge enables partner drivers to easily recognize passengers who have completed their profiles by providing personal details, such as their name and selfie. When a ride request is received, the badge will display, providing drivers with more information before they accept the booking.
The shift signifies a broader trend in the ride-hailing sector for enhancing safety through digital verification and transparency. Traditionally, many platforms had focused on driver verification, but Yango Ride’s new feature is all about verifying passengers as well, because there is a need for accountability from all on the platform for safety.
The company claims the badge aims to diminish uncertainty in a crucial phase of the customer’s journey – the drivers’ acceptance of a ride. This is especially true when it comes to late-night trips or trips coming from an unknown address, where drivers might be leery of accepting rides.
Yango Ride shows the passenger the completed profile badge, making it clear to the partner driver that the passenger has passed the verification process in Yango Ride. This extra layer of information could assist in making more informed decisions by the drivers and help to create a safer and more trusted ride-hailing experience, the company says.
Early insights from partner drivers have demonstrated the positive impact that the feature is already having on their driving. Yango Ride said initial research revealed that 40% more partner drivers said they felt as confident to take on board a passenger who had an accepted profile badge, particularly in the evenings and at places where extra reassurance can be helpful.
The feature also helps passengers fill out their profiles, providing an on-screen “green light” that assures the passengers that they’ve satisfied the platform’s verification process. In return, passengers have the potential to gain a greater level of trust in their drivers, and more seamless acceptance.
Country Head for Yango Zambia, Kabanda Chewe, said the initiative aims to make safety a joint responsibility on the platform. By marking this badge with visibility, partner drivers will have a clear, reliable signal before they agree to a ride — at the point where it is most important that they get that information — and that underscores that trust in ride-hailing is a two-way street: drivers need to feel safe, and passengers need to feel safe, too. We’re making the process more transparent at decision moments, which is making it more trusted for people on the platform,” Chewe said.
The passenger profile badge, when added to the over 25 safety features already on Yango Ride, creates an end-to-end safety solution. The passenger profile badge comes as part of Yango Ride’s end-to-end safety solution, which currently includes over 25 safety features. This includes live tracking of trips, driving behaviour detection, emergency SOS, and live sharing of trips with trusted contacts.
Operators are increasingly putting a focus on technologies that could build more trust and bolster safety measures for digital mobility services as they proliferate in Africa’s markets. In addition to existing driver verification, passenger verification is becoming more important as a part of this strategy and can contribute to a more balanced platform security approach.
Yango Ride is strengthening its efforts to adopt technology and drive greater transparency, responsible use of platforms, and increased trust between passengers and partner drivers throughout the journey with the introduction of the completed passenger profile badge. n
