Uber requiring mask verification for riders

by: Johan Sheridan

Posted: Sep 24, 2020 / 10:30 AM EDT / Updated: Sep 24, 2020 / 10:30 AM EDT

FILE – In this May 6, 2020, file photo, Luis Hidalgo, wearing face mask, watches as Joel Rios installs a plastic barrier in his car to protect himself and his passengers from the new coronavirus in the Bronx borough of New York. Mask slackers will now have to provide photographic proof they’re wearing a face covering before boarding an Uber. The San Francisco-based company unveiled a new policy Tuesday, Sept. 1, stipulating that if a driver reports to Uber that a rider wasn’t wearing a mask, the rider will have to take a selfie with one strapped on the next time they summon a driver on the world’s largest ride-hailing service. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

(NEWS10) — Starting Thursday, Uber riders will be required to verify that they’re wearing masks.

In a statement, Uber said that if a driver reports that a rider is maskless, then the rider has to send a selfie—with a face covering on—in order to take another Uber trip. Drivers and delivery people have already been required to take a mask verification selfie to use the app for months.

Uber announced in May that all users—riders, drivers, and UberEats delivery workers—have to wear a mask or face cover during every trip. Their slogan for this initiative is “No Mask. No Ride.”

Uber users with repeated violations risk losing access altogether. Since implementing the policy in May, over 1,250 riders have lost access to the Uber app after receiving multiple reports from drivers.