Uber’s rider ID program is offered in all places within the US as of tomorrow

Uber simply introduced the enlargement of security options directed towards drivers, together with a nationwide rollout of enhanced rider verification, which begins tomorrow. If a rider undergoes these extra verification steps they’ll get a “Verified” badge on their account, which can let drivers know all the pieces is on the up and up.

The corporate says it designed these new verification measures “in response to driver suggestions that they wish to know extra about who’s getting of their automotive.” The corporate started testing this characteristic earlier this 12 months and it should have been successful, because it’s getting a nationwide rollout. Lyft has its personal model of this instrument, although it is still being tested in select markets.

Uber verifies riders by cross-checking account info towards third-party databases, although it’ll additionally settle for official authorities IDs. This system may also enable customers to usher in their verification standing from the CLEAR program.

Whereas rider ID is probably the most notable security instrument introduced, Uber’s additionally bringing its Document My Experience characteristic to the entire nation after another successful beta test. This lets drivers report the whole lot of the journey by way of their smartphone cameras, with out the necessity to put money into a dashcam. The footage is absolutely encrypted, with Uber saying no person can entry it until a driver sends it in for assessment. The corporate hopes it will enable it to “extra rapidly and pretty resolve any incidents which will come up.”

Drivers can now cancel any journey and not using a monetary penalty they usually can “unmatch” from any riders they do not really feel snug selecting up. Lastly, there’s a brand new PIN verification characteristic through which drivers can request riders to enter a quantity to verify they’re, in reality, the proper visitor.

Uber tends to focus its resources on riders over drivers, so this can be a good change of tempo. It’s sort of a bummer, nevertheless, that drivers require this sort of enhanced verification system simply to root out some dangerous apples and hold doing their jobs. In different phrases, don’t be a jerk throughout your subsequent Uber journey.

Correction, September 17 2024, 10:45AM ET: This story and its headline initially acknowledged that Uber’s rider verification program was rolling out nationwide as of at the moment. The rollout begins tomorrow, September 18. We apologize for the error.