Voice-Logged Mileage Trips with Siri Shortcuts

Two voice commands. That's the whole feature. TruMile registers two App Intents with iOS so Siri can log a completed ride or end an active drive without opening the app. Auto-detection catches most trips automatically; Siri fills the gaps when you want to log a ride manually or end a drive hands-free.

Sources: Apple, App Intents for the framework behind Siri and Shortcuts integration; IRS Publication 463 for what a logged trip must record.

What you can do

• "Hey Siri, log a ride in TruMile" prompts you for from, to, miles, and category for a completed trip.
• "Hey Siri, stop my drive in TruMile" ends the active drive recording and saves it.
• Alternate phrases work too: "Add a ride", "Record a ride", "Log mileage", "Track a ride", "End my ride", "I'm done driving", "Stop tracking", "Finish my ride".
• Customize the phrase in iOS Settings → Shortcuts → TruMile.

Why hands-free matters

Hands-free distracted-driving rules vary by state, and there is no blanket exemption anywhere for voice commands. What voice activation changes is the physical act: you are not picking up, unlocking, or looking at the phone to start a trip. Check your own state's statute before assuming a spoken command is permitted while the vehicle is moving.

How it works under the hood

TruMile uses Apple's App Intents framework to expose two actions to Siri: log a completed ride, and stop the active drive. The phrases all require "in TruMile" at the end so Siri knows which app to invoke. Once added, the phrase works system-wide via Hey Siri or the side button.

When auto-detection is enough

For most drivers, the auto-detection in TruMile catches trips without any voice command. Siri Shortcuts are useful for two specific cases: drivers who want to log a trip they didn't auto-track (a personal vehicle borrowed for a quick business stop), and drivers who want to manually end a drive recording without unlocking the phone.

Privacy

Siri Shortcuts run entirely on-device for the trip-control phrases. No voice data leaves your phone for these specific actions. (Apple's own server-based Siri features are unaffected; this is just about TruMile's shortcut handlers.)

Setup

Open iOS Settings → Shortcuts → TruMile. The two actions are pre-registered with default phrases. Customize the phrase if "Log a ride" or "Stop my drive" feels awkward, or just rely on the alternate phrases that ship by default.

What a voice-logged trip still has to contain

Speaking a command is an input method, not a shortcut around recordkeeping. IRS Publication 463 asks for the same four elements however the entry was made: mileage, date, place, and business purpose. A voice command that logs a trip without capturing purpose leaves you with an incomplete record that has to be finished later.

This is worth being deliberate about, because the value is real. At 76 cents per mile from July 1, 2026, a 24-mile round trip you would otherwise have forgotten is $18.24 of deduction. Over a year of forgotten short trips, voice capture is often the difference between a log that reflects your driving and one that reflects the trips you happened to remember.

Why App Intents rather than a custom voice layer

App Intents is Apple's framework for exposing app actions to the system, which means the same two actions appear in Siri, in Shortcuts, and in system surfaces without the app running its own speech recognition. Nothing you say is processed by a third-party voice service, and the app does not need microphone access to support it.

Does this work while driving?

That is the point of it. Hands-free entry means you can close out a trip at a stop without handling the phone. Follow your local law on device use while driving, and prefer ending a trip once you have parked.

Voice-enabled mileage tracking. Start free with TruMile →

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