Lyft News

Lyft Launches Emergency Help, Supported by ADT, to Riders and Drivers Nationwide

Nov 18, 2020

Lyft was founded on the belief that everyone deserves access to safe, reliable transportation. Since day one, we have leveraged the best of technology to enhance transportation safety, and continue to do so today with the launch of Emergency Help, supported by ADT, now available for all Lyft riders and drivers nationwide. 

With Emergency Help, if a rider or driver ever feels uncomfortable or unsafe, they are able to immediately connect with an ADT security professional silently or by voice. Riders are able to choose whether they want ADT to text them, call them, or silently alert 911 on their behalf (to promote focused driving, drivers only have the option to request a call from ADT). If requested by the user, ADT will alert authorities so they can arrive at the user’s live location, equipped with ride details like the vehicle’s make and model, license plate number, and the intended drop-off location. 

Harnessing the vast experience, professional monitoring network and capabilities of ADT, Lyft aims to provide riders and drivers the ability to receive prompt help for any in-ride situation, whether or not they are able to verbally communicate with emergency services. Integrating with ADT also allows Lyft to expand beyond emergency service to reassurance, and give users extra peace of mind by providing real-time support in situations where the user feels uncomfortable, but may not want to immediately involve law enforcement.

“ADT is proud to support Lyft’s Emergency Help feature, powered by our U.S.-based network of monitoring professionals and 146-year experience helping to protect people and the things that matter most,” said Leah Page, Vice President, Mobile Security & Strategic Projects at ADT. “By using ADT’s mobile safety platform, Lyft is putting trusted protection directly into the hands of its users for greater peace of mind and protection while on the go.” 

“Our national integration with ADT is the latest feature in Lyft’s around-the-clock efforts to keep our community safe,” said Jennifer Brandenburger, Director of Public Policy for Community Safety at Lyft. “By enabling users to quickly and silently escalate concerns to security professionals and first responders at the tap of a button, we hope to prevent safety incidents from happening and immediately intervene if they do.”  

In the future, we plan to integrate ADT’s capabilities into our Smart Trip Check-in product. With Smart Trip Check-in, if we notice a ride has ended far from its intended destination, we may reach out to the user directly to ask if they need help and connect them to the authorities or our own Critical Response Line. We plan to expand Smart Trip Check-in to detect rides in real-time that have gone far off their reasonable route, stopped too soon, or paused for a significant amount of time, and give users the option to connect with ADT directly once we check in.

Alongside our expert partners, we will continue to work to enhance safety for our riders, drivers and the entire rideshare industry. 

This feature is live in the United States, in accordance with local jurisdictional laws and regulations for emergency dispatch.