Global ride-hailing company Uber said on the 16th (local time) that it will push to offer tasks that allow drivers operating on its platform to generate revenue even during waiting times.
Uber announced the plan at "Only on Uber" held in Washington, D.C., on the same day. Uber said that, together with its in-house Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solutions Group, it will offer simple digital tasks to drivers, and drivers will have the opportunity to generate more revenue by completing them in the Uber Driver app during downtime, not while on trips. The company said it has already been piloting simple tasks such as uploading photos for AI model training in India and will now begin a pilot in the United States as well.
Megan Casserly, Uber Spokesperson, said, "Recording speech in a specified language or accent according to instructions is another example of a task drivers can perform."
Pay will vary based on task difficulty and expected duration, and drivers can check the expected revenue before accepting a task, the company said. CNBC noted that these offerings are similar to small-scale online tasks provided to freelancers by other tech companies such as Amazon and remote-work platform Upwork.
Meanwhile, Uber said it will expand services that connect female drivers with female riders and will introduce a "late pickup guarantee" that pays additional compensation to drivers for rides delayed more than five minutes beyond the estimated time.