Uber is rolling out the red carpet for its drivers, or at least the in-app version of a red carpet.

The ride-hailing giant announced a slate of new and expanded driver-friendly features on Monday, including greater control over ride destinations, incoming ride requests and the timing for cashing out payments from Uber, as well as new rewards for drivers to get discounted rides when they are passengers in other cars. 

These and other features, rolling out in Uber’s dedicated app for drivers, come at a time when the $62.5 billion company is facing multiple lawsuits and unionization attempts from drivers as well as competition from “friendlier” rival Lyft and continued media scrutiny over how it treats its massive fleet. Read more…