ST. LOUIS — A new safety feature aimed at protecting Uber drivers is being tested in St. Louis.
This new feature is a rider verification, and it basically tells drivers that the person they're picking up is who they say they are. The next time you call an Uber within St. Louis city limits, you could see a small blue icon with a checkmark on your profile saying "verified," and drivers will see it, too.
St. Louis is one of 14 cities testing out this feature. 5 On Your Side met with Uber to ask how the app can tell it's really you.
Uber representative Zahra Asgari said there are two ways users can be verified.
"First, Uber will take a look at a rider's account. So, we'll look at information like a rider's name and phone number. Then, we'll cross check that information with trusted third party databases, and if we were able to confirm they are who they are, they'll receive the badge. Many of our riders will receive the badge as such."
What if you're not automatically verified by the app?
"All of our riders will have the option to provide to us a government-issued ID," Asgari said. "... Think about a driver license or a state ID. We also accept international passports, and that way they can receive the verification badge."
Users can upload a photo of their government-issued ID to get the verification badge.
What if you don't want Uber to have your information?
Uber said drivers will be able to see who's verified and who's not. Users aren't verified may have longer pick-up times.
If you're ordering a ride for someone else, you can order it as a guest ride. But it won't show a verified badge.
Uber just launched the pilot program this month.
"We'd like to know how the verification experience is working. So as part of this pilot, we plan to send out surveys," Asgari said. "We'll talk to our riders and drivers and learn about if we're kind of hitting the marks on the things that they care about."
When asked about when the pilot program would be completed, Asgari said it was too early to tell.
There are other safety features riders should be aware of on the app, and now, it's easier to engage those features.
After you ordered a ride, a blue safety shield icon will pop up. From there you can select several safety options to turn on.
- PIN Verification - That means riders and drivers will have to match a four-digit code to ensure they're getting in the right car.
- RideCheck - You'll be able to tell if the driver goes off course or stops unexpectedly.
- Audio Recording - Riders can record audio during the trip. Drivers will not see this. All audio recordings are encrypted and stored securely on your device.
- Share My Trip - Your friend or family member can see your live location and trip details.
These features are important because, according to Uber's safety report from 2020, riders were the victims in more than half of sexual assault cases reported.
Uber received 3,824 reports of sexual assault and misconduct from 2019 through 2020, a 38% decrease from 2017 through 2018. But, it's important to note there was a drop in app use during the pandemic.
According to Uber’s data, there were 1.4 billion U.S. trip reports in 2019. That number sunk to 650 million in 2020 under the backdrop of the pandemic.
When 5 On Your Side reached out to Uber requesting more recent statistics, representatives said the 2020 U.S. Safety Report contains the most recent statistics they were able to provide.
5 On Your Side also reached out to a representative from Lyft requesting the number of reported safety incidents on its app over the past year. The Lyft representative responded but did not provide our newsroom with that information.
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