New Stride Health app tracks Uber driver mileage

The idea behind Stride Drive is to help independent drivers track their mileage for tax deductions

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There’s always talk of all the emerging tech startups, including Uber and WeWork, completely transforming the way people work. But with the rise of an independent, freelancer workforce, there will necessarily be a need for more systems to manage 1099 income, expenses, (potential) benefits, and taxes.

Stride Health, a health insurance platform for independent workers, today announced the launch of a new app called Stride Drive, which helps drivers for companies like Uber better manage their expenses.

Currently only available on iOS, Stride Drive essentially runs in the background, tracking all the mileage that an Uber driver racks up while working. The idea is that this mileage—along with expenses like vehicle maintenance, gifts for passengers, tolls, and parking fees—can be written off as a tax deduction at the end of the year. The app automatically generates a yearly deductions summary, making it easy for contractors to do their taxes.

Already, Stride says more than 20,000 Uber drivers are using Stride Drive, but Uber is now planning on rolling it out to its drivers nationwide. Through their partnership, Uber and Stride offer their app freely to all Uber drivers.

“We are always looking for ways to make the Uber experience more rewarding and stress free for drivers,” said Jeff Miller, Director of Business Development at Uber, in a prepared statement. “Stride Drive is an easy, flexible way for drivers to make the most of their time on the road.”

I’ve reached out to Stride to see if they’re working with Lyft yet. It’s clear that the app would be just as welcome with drivers for Uber’s chief competitor in the U.S.

Uber has recently been making big moves to offer its drivers (who are classified as independent contractors) some of the benefits typically associated with full-time work. For example, the company last week announced a partnership with online investment platform Betterment to offer drivers a new way to start saving for retirement. This is analogous (though not quite the same) to an employer offering its workers retirement plans.

For its part, Stride has partnered with Uber since 2014 to offer “healthcare guidance” to drivers. The core mission behind Stride is providing a marketplace of healthcare options to freelancers, so it was a perfect fit. If you shop for health insurance on the company’s website, it asks you for your zip code, age, and preexisting conditions to present you with a couple different health plans for purchase.

Today, more than 100,000 Uber drivers use Stride for their health coverage. The company says its average user saves over $400 per year on healthcare by using the platform.

Founded in San Francisco in 2013, Stride Health has raised a little over $15 million from Venrock, New Enterpries Associates (NEA), and Fidelity's F-Prime Capital. In addition to Uber, the company is partnered with other fairly new marketplaces offering people new ways to make money, including Etsy, Postmates and Care.com.

Editor's Note: Our 6th Annual Vator Splash LA conference is coming up on October 13 at the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica. Speakers include Mark Cuban (one of the hosts of Shark Tank and owner of the Dallas Mavericks); Brian Lee (Founder & CEO, Honest Company); Leura Fine (Founder & CEO, Laurel & Wolf ); Nick Green (Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Thrive Market); Tri Tran (CEO & Co-founder, Munchery); Adam Goldenberg (Founder & CEO, JustFab); Andre Haddad (CEO, Turo); Mike Jones (Founder, Science) and many more. Join us! REGISTER HERE.