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Uber is rolling out features that would allow its drivers to see "verified" badges on customer profiles and record trips on their smartphones instead of a dashcam in a bid to improve driver and customer safety.
It comes against the backdrop of a 2021-22 safety report by Uber that found 31% of sexual assault incidents were reported by drivers against riders, while 68% were reported against drivers.
Starting now, Uber drivers in the US will be able to see when a customer has undergone additional verification steps with a "Verified" rider badge visible during a trip request.
Uber launched a pilot program in some cities earlier this year. The majority of riders there are verified, and its app received fewer complaints about those customers from drivers.
The company said it has already blocked about 15,000 rider accounts with fake names.
Uber will also allow its drivers to record video and audio during trips using the front camera on their smartphones, eliminating the need to invest in a dashcam.
All recordings will be encrypted and stored on the drivers' devices and cannot be accessed by them or Uber unless they send it to the company for review.
The firm is also piloting an option where drivers can block a rider if the driver rates the trip two or three stars, building on its existing policy of automatically un-matching drivers with riders any time drivers rate a ride 1 star.
It is the latest in a series of wins for workers striving to gain more protection from the online taxi and delivery firm. Rival Lyft is also experiencing pressure over its treatment of employees as unions add support to drivers and other workers.
Earlier this year Uber lost a court appeal against a Californian law that would require it to treat drivers as employees rather than independent contractors.
An 11-judge panel upheld a ruling that Uber failed to demonstrate that the 2020 state law, known as AB5, unfairly targeted app-based transportation companies while exempting other industries.
