Both Facebook and the navigation system Waze integrated support for the “Amber Alert” system as well.
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The app-driven car-service company has teamed up with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to implement the initiative in more than 180 American cities – potentially reaching about 75 percent of the country’s population.
Uber tends to get a lot of flack but here’s a story that even the most ardent Uber detractor can get on board with.
What this means is that when an Uber driver is out and about and an Amber Alert is issued for a missing child, the transportation provider will immediately receive geographically targeted information that might help recover someone’s loved one. The best case scenario involves drivers spotting a missing child and reporting his location.
Corey Johnson, a member of the west Manhattan city council, commended the companies’ contribution to the increased safety of toddlers. The Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has been “broadcasting Amber and Silver alerts for years, and it is good to see our licensees using technology in this positive way, and working constructively with the larger community”, said Meera Joshi, TLC Commissioner.
“Timing is the essential part of an Amber Alert”, Uber Colorado general manager Will McCollum told The Denver Post. She points out that the TLC broadcasted AMBER and Silver alerts in the past, leading to numerous children and seniors being found.
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Not only do Amber Alerts mobilize the eyes and ears of the public, but they have also “shown that a few perpetrators release the abducted child after hearing the Amber Alert on the radio or seeing it on television”, according to the US Department of Justice.
