The security of our passengers tops the priority list of Universal Taxi. We acknowledge that every one of us in the company, from the management down to the cab drivers, has a responsibility over the lives of our clients. We take this responsibility seriously and take pride in finding more ways to ensure that every ride is safe and secure.

We aim to help Chicago residents and visitors take care of themselves. So here are three ridesharing security issues that every passenger must pay attention to.

The lack of a call to action for passengers to read the company’s terms and conditions.

This is one of the most common mistakes of consumers. At one point or another, we are all guilty of disregarding the Terms of Conditions of a product or service. But these conditions are there for a reason. It is for consumers to fully understand what they are agreeing to.

We can’t stress enough how important it is for passengers to read the terms and conditions of the ridesharing cab company. It’s important to realize that availing its service is very different from hailing a taxi across the street. When a passenger downloads the ridesharing app, by default, s/he agrees to the host’s terms and conditions. And if an incident happens, depending on the terms and conditions, the ridesharing cab company can be free from its obligation to the passenger.

The use of different cab companies and/or taxi app.

Time has changed.Nowadays, traditional taxi dispatchers have apps and mobile services. At Universal Taxi, we answer to conventional hailing of cabs or scheduling through the telephone. But we also provide a new service, the Universal Taxi App. This is our brand new app that helps us meet the needs of our app-loving clients.

We understand it’s natural for customers to test many service providers first before sticking to one. But changing from one company/app to another can open a huge security hole. This is due to the passenger’s personal data being transmitted to various companies. Once personal details like phone numbers are thrown to the digital world anyone can access the information. This is especially true if the security of the cab company is far from solid. This security risk can be prevented by sticking to one reliable cab company/dispatch.

The scarcity of information on how ridesharing companies get their drivers.

The rise of ridesharing companies and the luxury they bring can easily entice passengers. But there’s also the glaring fact that a passenger doesn’t have any idea how the cab company cross-checked its drivers. This reality is true for both ridesharing companies and taxi dispatchers. However, it’s scarier with ridesharing companies. This is because rideshare drivers usually know pertinent personal details about the passenger. This makes this security issue a privacy dilemma as well.

Yes, ridesharing is the “hot” thing right now. And many passengers choose it over the traditional taxi. But with all the controversies and security issues surrounding it, it’s a lot better to trust the neighborhood taxi dispatcher if you want safety first over anything else.