inDrive says suspect in teacher's murder was not registered on its platform

Global ride-hailing provider inDrive says the suspect in the murder of a teacher whom the police have linked to a ride-share transport service was not registered on its platform. 

Last week, Transport and Telecommunications published a letter from the company in which it said the man, a convicted sex offender, "was not offering his services through our platform". 

But in an update today, inDrive said the suspect, who has not been charged and therefore cannot be named, is not registered with it.  

"The relevant authorities have been in touch and have provided us with the name of the main suspect that is currently being investigated. We can confirm that we have no user registered on the platform coinciding with the name, phone number or email account associated with the main suspect which authorities shared with us," inDrive said in a statement. 

Ride-sharing or hailing involves ​travelling in a private vehicle driven by its owner, free or for a fee. The service is generally arranged using an Internet-based application or website.

On June 3, the police announced that they believe that a body found that day in Clarendon to be that of missing primary school teacher, Danielle Anglin, who was reported missing on May 13. 

inDrive said she last used its services on May 11. 

It reiterated that it is working with investigators on the case "to ensure justice is served" in Anglin's case. 

And the company said 99.9 per cent of inDrive trips in Jamaica "are incident-free", which it has linked to a real-time AI-powered facial recognition and other safety features.

It said drivers are not allowed to join the platform without the approval of requested paperwork, a move it said has its incident rate by 50 per cent. 

In giving the update, Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey said investigators have been having a hard time investigating cases involving ride-hailing services.

A day later Minister Vaz announced a 12-month ban on all ride-hailing services because of a "national security concern". He said the providers need to be regulated. 

In a letter to telecoms provider Flow, the minister said the services are being used by persons "to provide transportation services without appropriate fit and proper checks and in breach of existing laws to include the Road Traffic Law Act and the Transport Authority Act". 

But inDrive, which is available in 749 cities across 46 countries, is not happy with the ban.

"The RH (ride-hailing) -apps ban initiative to be counter-productive and deeply alarming as it undermines the rights of thousands of Jamaicans who rely on digital mobility alternatives and exposes them to unnecessary risks. Not only would this ban be extremely detrimental to passengers, it would also destroy the economies of families who depend on these platforms for their livelihoods," it said. 

"We have been in dialogue with the relevant authorities over recent weeks to co-create initiatives that stamp out assault and violence for both drivers and passengers on any form of transportation," it said. 

Vaz has said that it was only after the ban that some of the service providers reached out to the Government, which he said had been seeking to open talks long before but without success.

Uber, 876OnTheGo, Lyft and Ride Jamaica are some of the other ride-sharing services affected. 

Vaz said all the parties are now in discussions with the Government on addressing the regulatory and safety issues.

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