Ride-hailing company Beat hopes its dedicated safety team and linked accounts service will make its service attractive to women in Mexico’s capital.

In 2019, Uber will face a new competitor in Mexico City. Beat, which already operates in a number of Latin American cities, hopes their emphasis on safety will give them a competitive advantage. "Apart from Beat's dedicated safety team watching rides in progress, passengers can send a link to up to three of their iPhone contacts so that those friends and family members can monitor their movement and ensure they safely arrive at their planned destination," Julie Walmsley reports in Forbes.
The Beat application can only be used by credit card holders but, verified customers will be able to pay with cash. The company, which started in Greece, hopes those who can afford it will pay what Beat has positioned as a safer alternative to other transit options. "That experience includes an emergency report button in the customer-facing app. Any customer report goes directly to authorities and to Beat's safety division," Walsely writes.
FULL STORY: Beat Wants To Broadside Uber In Mexico With Women-Friendly Safety Features

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.

Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.

Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
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