New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS): Ride-hailing major Uber on Monday introduced a new safety policy which will request riders, who have been tagged for not wearing masks on a previous trip, to take a selfie which shows them wearing a mask, in order to book their next trip.

The move comes after Uber earlier this year built technology designed to verify that drivers on the platform are wearing a mask while on-trip, by clicking a selfie.

Since Uber began mask verification selfies for drivers in May 2020, more than 17.44 million verifications have been carried out throughout India.

This new feature aims to ensure that feedback received from drivers can help make the platform safer for the next user.

"At Uber, we believe accountability is a two-way street. Earlier this year, we designed innovative technology to ensure that drivers were actually wearing masks before accepting trips," Pavan Vaish, Head of Supply & Driver Operations, Uber India and South Asia, said in a statement.

"Today, we've devised similar technology for riders who've previously been called out for not wearing a mask while on-trip. Our new policy raises the bar on safety and makes our platform safer not just for you, but for the next rider and driver as well."

Over the past few months, Uber has launched a slew of safety measures, such as the Go Online Checklist and a mandatory mask policy for riders, pre-trip mask verification selfies for drivers, and mandatory driver education around Covid-19 related safety protocols.

Riders and drivers can also cancel a trip, without penalty, if the other person is not wearing a mask.

Uber said it is distributing over three million masks and 200,000 bottles of disinfectants and sanitisers to drivers, free of cost.