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Uber starts offering side hustles to drivers to earn extra money


Uber is offering idle drivers in the U.S. the opportunity to earn extra income by completing “digital tasks” without having to make trips or deliveries.

According to the announcement on October 16, drivers and couriers who have opted into the pilot program will be able to complete “simple, quick tasks,” such as document uploads or responding to prompts in their native languages. Uber said these tasks and their availability would depend on “clients’ needs,” and executives clarified that firms would use the drivers’ inputs as human vetting to train AI models.

Why It Matters

The announcement from Uber, which is considered a side hustle in its own right, reflects the fact that an increasing number of drivers are relying on the ride-hailing app as their primary income stream. For these drivers and couriers, finding additional ways of earning is becoming a key concern given that the rise of self-driving cars—which Uber already offers in Austin and Atlanta—could push many out of a job.

What To Know

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi unveiled the new pilot program at the company’s Only on Uber 2025 conference in Washington, D.C.

Chief Product Officer Sachin Kansal said the idea came from feedback provided by Uber drivers who said they’d “like to be able to earn” even when they’re not online or not on the road.

Kansal said Uber was collaborating with AI companies and using its drivers to train and refine AI models. Uber told Newsweek that this would contribute to its emerging data services division, Uber AI Solutions.

The tasks would be available for some drivers in the Work Hub section of their app, most of which can be completed on a phone and from anywhere. However, a spokesperson told Axios that, for safety reasons, these will not appear if a driver is online and accepting trips.

Examples of these digital tasks include a driver recording themselves speaking, submitting documents in different languages or uploading images.

“Each task takes only a few minutes,” Uber said in a news release. “Over time, you’ll see a wider variety of tasks, giving you more opportunities to earn.”

In his presentation, Kansal said the example of a document upload task would be from a client that “wants to improve its AI in analyzing documents in different languages.”

Uber said compensation would be based on the complexity of the task and the amount of time required, with payments appearing in a driver’s balance within 24 hours.

Kansal’s presentation included a screenshot of a driver’s app displaying a $0.50 payout for a two- to three-minute task, $1.00 for a task taking one to two minutes, and a $4 task that takes between three and 10 minutes. However, Uber clarified that these examples were not completely accurate reflections as the pilot had not yet launched.

What People Are Saying

Sachin Kansal, Uber’s chief product officer, said at the Only on Uber 2025 conference: “Whether it’s digital tasks with doc uploads or audio uploads, or it’s catering orders, we want to make sure that you have as many earning opportunities on our platform as possible suitable to your situation and your requirements. We have heard from you loud and clear that you want more ways to earn, and we are listening.”

What Happens Next

Uber has already piloted the digital tasks feature in India and said it would be doing so in the U.S. “before the end of the year.”



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