(Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc said on Tuesday it will roll out features that will allow its drivers to see “verified” badges on customer profiles and record trips on their smartphones instead of a dashboard camera.
This is expected to improve driver safety and comes on the back of Uber’s 2021-22 safety report which said 31% of sexual assault incidents were reported by drivers against passengers, while 68% were reported against drivers.
Starting Wednesday, Uber drivers in the US will be able to see if a customer has gone through additional verification steps by displaying a “Verified” rider badge while requesting a ride.
Uber launched a pilot program in some cities earlier this year. The company said the majority of riders there were verified, and its app received fewer complaints about those riders from drivers.
The company said it had already blocked about 15,000 passenger accounts with fake names.
Uber will also allow its drivers to record video and audio during trips using the front-facing camera on their smartphones, eliminating the need to invest in a dashboard camera.
All recordings will be encrypted and stored on drivers’ devices, and drivers or Uber will not be able to access them unless they submit them to the company for review.
Uber is also testing an option for drivers to block a rider if the driver rates a ride two or three stars, building on its current policy of automatically unmatching drivers with riders anytime drivers rate a ride one star.