Uber launches new safety feature for riders and drivers in Calgary

Uber says its audio recording feature gives riders and drivers the ability to report uncomfortable situations directly to the ride sharing service. (File)

Uber is doing more to improve safety for drivers and riders that use its service and Calgary is the first Canadian city to pilot the company's new feature.

Starting Thursday, Uber users and drivers in the city will be able to access an audio recording feature, a system that allows trips to be recorded through their apps.

"We hope that every trip goes well, but we also know that sometimes things don't go as planned," Uber said in a statement. "With the new Audio Recording safety feature, riders and drivers can record their trips at the tap of a button."

The recording feature is enabled once the trip has started through the app's Safety Toolkit and enable it.

The company says audio recording gives users the tools to monitor and, if needed, report uncomfortable situations.

"Uber takes safety reports seriously. If a user opens a report with an audio file, the safety team will review it. Uber will take appropriate action in accordance with its policies," Uber said.

If riders or drivers don't want to be recorded during trips, Uber says there are options for those situations.

"Riders will see a message in their app informing them that the driver has opted in to Audio Recording and that audio may be recorded on their trip," the company said.

"Riders can choose to cancel the trip if they feel uncomfortable or don't want to be recorded, then find a driver who has not opted in."

There is no way that the driver or rider will know that a recording has begun, but in addition to riders being notified before trips begin, Uber says it has reached out to drivers to inform them that riders have access to audio recording.

Uber says Calgary was chosen for the pilot because the city has the correct number of users, along with a consistent trip volume.

"We launched this feature back in 2019 and it’s now available in more than a dozen countries including the U.S. As riders and drivers continue to return to the platform and begin moving again, we felt the time was right to bring audio recordings to Canada, starting with Calgary," the company said.

"Our hope is to learn how riders and drivers interact with the feature which will guide future expansion of the feature."

Uber says the audio recording feature is part of the app's Safety Toolkit. Riders are notified before a trip begins that their selected driver has opted into the feature and can cancel if they don't wish to be recorded. (Supplied/Uber)

As for the audio recordings themselves, the files are encrypted and stored either in the rider's or driver's device.

"Their recording will be locked, and no one – not the driver, not Uber, not the rider – has access to it. Uber can only access the recording if the rider or driver reports an incident and chooses to share the recording with Uber," the company said.

More information about the feature and how to use it can be found on Uber's website.