Higher Rated Uber Drivers May Get More Trips With Upcoming Changes

News and Announcements Uber
#1

There is a lot to be said against Kalanick, especially when you are an Uber driver. His legacy has led Uber to both extreme heights of success as well as extreme depths of litigation and public hate. Ever since Kalanick was replaced by Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber has undergone some substantial changes in leadership as well as in the public opinion and perception of how Uber is now being directed.

One of the recent issues that have come to light, and is currently on the executive drawing board is the idea of an incentive bonus plan to benefit good drivers. What is a good driver, a good driver is someone that is conscientious of their passengers and of their vehicle. Someone that cares for both and provides a comprehensive service.

The new scheme being discussed outlines the following concepts:

Passengers may choose drivers based on the following attributes:

  1. Drivers with higher ratings
  2. Drivers with added benefits (Video Entertainment, Mobile device chargers, etc.)
  3. Drivers with specific car types within a category
  4. Drivers with a certain number of rides under their belt

The incentive is added to those drivers when the passenger has to pay a higher premium fee for this service. This means that excellent drivers will receive more rides as well as get paid better.

The outcome of this concept?

  1. Passengers will be able to choose their driver based on personal preferences.
  2. Uber will enjoy a better name due to a better service
  3. Drivers will earn more per ride, as well as get more rides
  4. The overall service will improve as drivers start to compete for a higher standing and offering more in-ride attractions.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated that the plans are still on the drawing board and being reviewed from every angle. Adding filter features is simple, but the outcome is not. BY favoring better drivers over others, you could alienate many drivers that provide services that are usually rated low only due to the customer type. For instance, Pool rides and late night drunk riders. It might also separate those drivers with more cash to invest in a better car per category than those that cannot afford to buy more than a used car.

One of the sources for filtering rides comes from the app Uzurv, which offered passengers that ability to choose Uber and Lyft drivers based on a large number of attributes.

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Some of the amenities can include a bike rack, a child seat (big issue), movies during rides WIFI hotspots and more. You get to see the drivers photo and the car model and make their drive. So, if you want a Hyundai Accent driven by a middle-aged woman, and has beverages during the ride, go ahead.

Uber will take this one step further, and probably offer rider reviews for viewing the difference between many drivers that fit the bill and have a 4.9 to a 5-star rating.

Win-Win-Win

This is a triple win situation, where the passenger wins, the driver wins, and Uber wins. Its something so simple and so basic you wonder why they didn't think of this before. It also sorts out the "bad driver" syndrome, where bad drivers will be filtered out completely. Maybe, after a year or so, only serious drivers with commitment and motivation will remain driving for Uber.

The one Loss

It is possible that riders will start to focus on a small number of drivers, that will eventually make driving for Uber unrealistic for many drivers not seeking a full-time occupation. Uber started out as a rideshare concept from the "carpooling" idea and blossomed into what is now known as ridesharing. This filter could lead Uber straight into its enemies hands, and turn them into a glorified taxi service that only employs the most professional of drivers.

In this case scenario, other rideshare companies can rise above Uber by maintaining a lax system (as is now), and not enable passengers access to choose. Which is actually what happens with taxi's, you hail them and whatever turns up you take. How many times have we argued over a crappy taxi ready for the heap, and been grateful to get in and go?

#2

Uber has been practicing matching high rated riders with high rated drivers already. So if you are lower rated & have not been getting as many pings, that’s why. Now they are setting it up as a rider choice after experimenting for a while. I was a 4.97 until New Years Eve drunks. Went to a 4.89 and immediately the number of pings I get decreased.

I used to stay very busy, I would have stacked calls all night Friday & Saturday and had to turn off the uber app to stop for the bathroom. That changed when my rating went down.

#3

Pretty sure the decrease is because it’s January, not because your rating went down. Uber doesn’t currently match drivers and riders based on ratings. They always test before rollout, but they’re not presently testing this yet. If what you said was correct, I’d get a lot fewer requests from 4.5’s. Also, I asked an Uber logistics manager, and they confirmed this is nowhere near being tested yet.

#4

Yeah, great idea because the rating system is such a fair system… Driver didn’t talk? 1 STAR! Driver talked too much? 1 STAR! Road construction forced a detour? 1 STAR! Traffic? 1 STAR! Didn’t like a song on the radio? 1 STAR! Had a shitty day at work? 1 STAR!

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#5

Well if they do this I hope pax can only request there rating or higher, ie, a 4.8 can set the minimum star rated driver to 4.8, but a 4.5 would lose the option all together maybe with a subtle message that says if you were a driver you’d be fired.

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#6

My pax rating has dropped off. I have a 4.89 rating because two passengers in the last two months were having an awful day. I get five stars all the time. This doesn’t make sense. I’m looking for other part-time work. This has become a joke.

#7

Do you realize, if they request 4.9+ they’re going to expect you to go out of your way indeed and the second you don’t they’ll drop you down. So, you better have the free water ready, probably cold, better have the free snacks, lightning charging cables, and you better be prepared to hit the Taco Bell drive-thru after midnight on the weekends.

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#8

Doesn’t work that way. In my market, they’ve had ubermilitary for a couple of months. These are folks that have access drive onto military installations to pick-up or drop off. Since that happened (although some of my pick-ups are further), I have taken home quite a bit more. The pool ends up being smaller, meaning that those individuals will get more rides.

#9

That is retarded and utterly ridiculous. Do you know how many people make false accusations on drivers all the time just because the driver did not go completely out of their way to please the Rider… the littlest s*** the pettiest s*** make some people give drivers an undeserved low score. Catering to your Riders is the wrong thing to do. Uber needs to have more respect for its drivers.

Do you know how many drunk people I’ve got in my car that put the wrong destination in on the app and they got mad at me because I wasn’t going the way they thought I should have been going? I even asked those drunk Rider is this destination correct and are you happy with the route that Uber is providing or would you like me to change things up? And they always say yeah yeah it’s fine and then once I start driving they get mad and say where are you going? Where the hell do you think I’m going? I’m going to the damn destination that you put in that I just asked you is this the correct destination and are you happy with the route😠uber is a f****** joke.

#10

I have a 4.93 and only because I got a 1 star from a guy who wanted to vape in my car. I said sorry no and another because he put in the wrong pick up address and then wanted me to take him to the store that was the destination and wait for him then take him home for free. When I told him he needed to extend or order another uber, he said he couldn’t afford that.

#11

I think the issue with ratings is how the rating’s system is designed. If Uber really wants drivers to improve, then the rating system should be defined by specific ratings for specific attributes, that means the rider will not rate once in stars (which are 20% increments) but in an associative way. Where there are 7 attributes to provide stars. This will weight the average and lead to an actual rating and not a clumped mess of a rating.
There should also be a 6th level which is N/A (not applicable) where a rider does not give a rating for a specific issue.
This means that a driver wont get a one time star rating, but 7 different ratings that will average out to give the actual star rating of the ride.
The ratings should be: 1) car comfort, 2) car cleanliness, 3) driver navigation knowledge, 4) driver professionalism, 5) ride entertainment, 6) ride promptness (arrival), 7) overall satisfaction rating.
For example, a ride could be rated this way:

  1. 5 stars, 2) 4 stars 3) 4 stars 4) 5 stars 5) 5 stars 6) 5 stars 7) 4 stars. The outcome will be 32 stars out of 35, which is 91% satisfaction. In stars that would be 4.55 for this ride.
    Yes, I know that riders wont like to give 7 different star rating, but heck, its a better approach and directs the driver to where the issues really are.
#12

Andrew, that wont work, passengers wont spend time rating their driver in detail. The ratings are also before the tip section so the longer they spend on rating the less patience they have for tipping. The ratings calculations method is shit, and it wont change in the future. The new initiative to allow riders the right to choose a specific driver based on attributes is also shitty, its not as if you can choose your taxi driver, bus driver or airline pilot. You go with what you get. The ratings system is bogus, it does not address the real issues and honestly, doesn’t really work properly. If you have a conscientious driver that cares for their car and their passengers then ratings wont improve their performance, they will just hinder them. If you have an average driver, then the ratings might help to improve their lot, but if you have a crappy driver, he/she will be shit on the heels no matter what. The new system that is being developed will improve the lot of the conscientious driver, ruin the income for the average drivers and will remove crappy drivers from the scene, Bottom line, if Lyft stays with their system and doesn’t change it, they will overtake Uber, since most of the drivers will not want to drive for Uber.

#13

Yes, I believe this to be true as well in regards to drivers with higher ratings receiving more pings and trips. I have only been driving for a little over 3 months; mainly anywhere from 20 to 40 hours a week. I just completed about 310 trips and am proud of my 100% acceptance rate and high driver rating of 4.98. I noticed that I’ve been receiving a steady influx of pings. This past Thursday, I did 14 trips and last night, I completed 19 trips. And I live on Maui… not a major city. Almost all were back-to- back pings. Had to take a break so I could use the restroom and fill my gas tank lol. Plus my riders have been really nice and cool people who tip very well. I take great pride in my job and give excellent customer service to each of my riders. And I’m grateful for a job where it offers me the flexibility to spend quality time with my kids while making a decent living. The key is treating your riders the way you would like to be treated. Trust me, it all comes back to you.

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#14

310 trips? That’s it? Come back when you hit 1000 trips and let’s see if you are singing the same song. It only takes a couple 3 or 4 star trips to bring that rating down.

#15

I only work part time and only been driving less than 6 months. I also took a month and a half hiatus from driving. Have a lot of family things I’m helping with over the summer. And keep in kind, I drive in Maui… so not a major city like LA or even Honolulu.

As of today, I have a total of 457 trips and still at a 4.98… about to hit 4.99. I still have a zero percent cancellation rate and 100% acceptance rate. If I drove full time, I’m sure I’d get there much faster but only been working less than 20 hours a week.

#16

Yeah because uber only thinks of their bottom line and passengers, while they keep doing so called changes that are supposed to benefit the driver they really dont, it 9nly benefits riders and uber themselves, with all the money drivers make uber they still take more for each ride drivers still make very little money, uber refuses to reimburse the full amount of any toll roads you have to take, I’ve had 20 tolls and received 2 dollars back, how is that fair? They expect you to drive 12 to 20 miles at tomes to pick someone up thats going 2 miles, guess what? I refuse any tides further than 5 miles its not worth the time, if you get to a pick up and the rider cancels you don’t get travel pay, they say you have to wait 5 minutes but if someone cancels it cancels the timer out also, instead of saying your making changes to benefit drivers how about actually doing it like better pay, better customer service for the driver and get rid of some of your ridiculous policies, uber is really getting to be just a joke.

#17

It’s also really frustrating that one 1 star can plummet your rating, but it takes tons of 5 star ratings to bring it back up one point. :confounded:

#18

When it comes to driving for Uber, maintaining a high star rating is very important. Uber drivers and passengers have the ability to rate each other after a ride. Apparently, if a driver gives you a rating of less than 5 stars, they must also provide a reason for it. If they rate you 3 stars or lower, they will not be paired with you again. Suffice it to say that very few drivers give out lower ratings. If they give you a 4, you have definitely done something to piss them off. If they give you a 3, you are so bad that they don’t EVER want to see you again