Earn on your own schedule

Introducing a new feature: Driving Hours Limit

23 April 2018 / South Africa

Everyone wants to get safely from A to B, and Uber’s Community Guidelines suggest that you should take a break if you’re feeling tired. We’re introducing a new feature to the app, driving hours limit, to help you keep track of your time and make roads safer for both drivers and riders. In introducing this feature, we have drawn on expert guidelines that show that driving long hours without taking a break increases the risk of an accident on the road.
From Monday, 14 May 2018, after spending up to 12 hours of time driving with Uber, the app will notify you that you need to take a 6-hour break. You’ll need to be offline for a full 6 hours before your driving hour timer is reset and you can start driving again.
What is the new feature?
Starting on Wednesday, 2 May 2018, the driving hours limit feature will put a time limit on how long you can drive on Uber before having to take a break. The app will notify you of the need to take a break after 12 hours of driving. You’ll then have to be offline for an entire 6 hour period before the timer resets. Following the reset, you’ll be able to take trip requests again. 
How will I know when I reach 12 hours?
Don’t worry, the app has a timer that will make it easy for you to track how much driving time you have left.
What counts towards my 12 hours of driving time?
Any time spent online and driving with Uber counts toward the 12-hour driving limit. Time spent engaged in driving will count, for example, when you are temporarily stopped at a traffic light. If you’re online but stopped, for example, waiting for a trip at the airport parking lot, that time is not counted.
Do I have to wait until I have driven 12 hours?
No. You don’t need to wait until you have reached the 12-hour limit. To reset the time counter, you simply need to take an uninterrupted break of 6 hours from the app. An uninterrupted break means not going online at any point during your break period.
What happens if I am on a trip when I hit the 12-hour limit?
If you are on a trip that puts you over the 12-hour limit, you will be able to continue driving until the trip is completed. After the trip ends, the app will log you offline so that you can take your break.
Will the app reset after a 24-hour period?
No. The app only resets after you’ve taken an uninterrupted break of 6 hours or more. 
We will be having information sessions at the Greenlight Hub to answer your questions about this new feature. We appreciate your partnership and are committed to continuing to do more to help keep you safe on the road.