Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi

Uber will begin annual criminal background checks of drivers in US to keep riders safe

Other safety features include buttons in the Uber app that allow riders to call 911 in an emergency.

Uber CEO says there are no plans to consolidate its operations for minority stakes in rivals; battle with Ola to carry on say analysts

Uber and Ola are both backed by a common investor, SoftBank, which pushed behind the scenes for the merger between Uber and Grab Holdings in Southeast Asia

SoftBank closes deal to acquire 15 percent of Uber; invests $9 billion in the ride-hailing app

Uber is hoping the deal helps it move past recent internal strife and strengthens the position of CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

Uber co-founder to sell off a third of his stake in the company for $1.4 bn

Travis owns 10 percent of Uber, which means his sale will unload 2.9 percent of Uber shares and earn him about $1.4 billion.

Uber sells 15% stake to Softbank at 30% discount; deal to loosen Travis Kalanick's grip on ride-sharing app

The two firms did not provide details of the valuation but the source said the investment was based on Uber’s worth of $48 billion, down from $71 billion earlier this year.