Ride-hailing, a product of today’s shared economy marketplace, has grown rapidly since first introduced to the public.  But several incidents have haunted the emerging service, sparking public safety awareness.

People should think from the point of capital injection results to resolve safety issues surrounding ride-sharing services and urge companies to optimize in-app safety functions, rather than question the business model.

Some may argue the crime rate within ride-sharing companies like Uber is low, but the point here is how a seemingly good service could create so many tragedies that families will never overcome. The concept of using free transportation resources to ease traffic congestion is great, but repeated criminal incidents should be an issue these companies are trying vigorously to resolve.
Many people question the safety of a “sharing economy,” since the new business model was able to generate a large customer base so quickly, which in turn made risk management a much harder issue to control based on the range and variety of their customers.
The problem stems from the capital injection that flows freely into these companies. By seeing the value of a concept, investors throw substantial amounts of money in theses startup companies and then force them to pave a market path in hopes of securing a fast investment return.
Startup companies that suddenly find themselves fully funded with access to money never-before imagined could blast away previous operation modes, and cause them to suffer from making adjustments to achieve investor quota expectation. This business paradigm does not allow time for risk assessment or to establish safety protocol. 
Compared with the ride-sharing industry, the emerging “pay for knowledge” sector which aims to share concentrated knowledge for its paid subscribers in any given field, has shown stable and safe growth.
The FanDeng readers club, a pay-for-knowledge service and mobile app has more than 600 hundred of offline reader communities that have been hosting book salons almost weekly for six years throughout the country. For such a high volume of offline events, the club has yet to report one incident involving criminal behavior.

The system in place with pay-for-knowledge services filters its users according to the nature of the service they provide. The book club focuses on attracting high-quality users who seek knowledge, and then provides them with fragmented and specific knowledge.

Unlike the pay-for-knowledge services which filter their users according to interests, ride-sharing service providers should spend more time on ensuring passenger safety.
The more money shared economy businesses make, means they must take on greater social responsibilities, just like other successful companies have done in the past.

Uber and Lyft should put client safety above everything else.  An in-app function allowing users to take control or have the ability reach out when necessary should be available.

Ride-sharing companies need to investment in the development of safety features such as emergency numbers and quick alarms which would make passengers feel safer, while also developing a better driver environment.

The companies should also conduct thorough background checks before hiring a driver, such as live a scan or real name registration, which could help reduce risk. Ensuring user security is also a crucial step for establishing company’s reputation in the long run.