Uber Broadens Income Streams for Drivers Beyond Traditional Rides and Deliveries
Uber Technologies Inc. is expanding the ways its U.S.-based drivers and couriers can generate income through the app, offering earning opportunities even when they are not actively transporting passengers or delivering orders.
Introducing AI-Powered Micro-Task Opportunities
The company has launched a pilot program spearheaded by its AI Solutions team, allowing drivers to engage in small digital tasks such as uploading photos to help train artificial intelligence systems. This initiative is currently being trialed in India as part of Uber’s broader strategy to diversify driver income.
This proclamation was made during Uber’s Only on Uber 2025 event in Washington, D.C., where CEO Dara Khosrowshahi emphasized how extensive driver input has influenced these new offerings.
Extensive Driver Collaboration Shapes New Features
Before rolling out these innovations, Uber held over 60 Crew sessions involving more than 100 employees, gathering hundreds of hours of feedback focused on refining product design and policy to better serve drivers’ needs.
Varied Task Types designed for Driver Flexibility
an Uber representative detailed that beyond image uploads, drivers might potentially be invited to record voice samples in different languages or accents based on specific prompts. These tasks are strictly separate from any autonomous vehicle or self-driving car projects within Uber.
Payments for these micro-tasks depend on their complexity and time requirements, with drivers able to review compensation details before accepting assignments.
How Uber’s Micro-tasks Compare to Othre gig Platforms
this model shares similarities with platforms like Amazon Mechanical Turk and Upwork, which provide freelance opportunities for data annotation and other small-scale jobs. However, Uber maintains confidentiality regarding client identities and the precise nature of AI projects linked to these tasks.
Enhancing Rider and Driver Experiance with New Safety Features
In addition to new earning options, Uber has expanded its women rider preference feature across multiple U.S. cities including Baltimore, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, seattle, Portland (Oregon), and Washington D.C. This option enables female riders to request women drivers if they prefer-a program that has facilitated over 100 million trips worldwide.
Customizable Rider Rating Preferences for Drivers
Drivers now have the ability to set minimum rider rating thresholds within the app, helping them avoid passengers with low ratings. These preferences can be adjusted based on time of day or night to enhance driver comfort and safety.
the Delayed Ride Guarantee: Fair Compensation for Longer Trips
Uber introduced a delayed ride guarantee that increases driver earnings when trips exceed estimated durations by more than five minutes. While additional fees may occasionally be passed on to riders-such as delays caused by traffic congestion or extra stops-this policy aims at ensuring drivers receive fair pay for extended trip times.
“The women rider preference option has been widely embraced by female drivers globally,” stated Khosrowshahi regarding this popular feature available in numerous markets worldwide.
