Uber expanding pilot of driver safety feature into Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Rideshare company Uber said it was expanding the pilot version of a driver safety feature of its app into Austin.

The company launched the pilot program "Record My Ride" in October 2022 across select U.S. cities. It's a safety feature that allows drivers to record video and audio of trips using their smartphone camera.

The feature will now be available for Uber drivers in Austin, where it was previously unavailable.

How it works:

• Drivers can set up Record My Ride in the Safety Toolkit
• Once enabled, the feature will automatically record each trip using the driver’s smartphone camera.
• Recordings will automatically stop shortly after a trip is completed, and start shortly before the driver’s next trip begins.
• All recordings are immediately encrypted on the driver’s device.
• No one is able to access the recordings - not the driver, nor Uber - unless a driver submits a safety report and attaches the recording. Only trained safety agents will be able to decrypt and review the submitted recording.
• Riders will see a notification in the app if they are matched with a driver who has the feature enabled.

Drivers should start seeing the "Record My Ride" option in the Safety Toolkit and will receive an email informing them of the feature. A list of FAQs can be found online.