Uber today introduced a few changes to its rating system aimed at making things a little "fairer" for drivers.
The first change applies to UberPool, the option that lets you ride and split the cost of your trip with someone else headed in the same direction. Going forward, when a rider rates a Pool trip less than 5 stars, they will have the ability to select additional reasons why. When the person indicates it was a sucky trip because they didn't like the route or their co-rider, Uber won't count the rating towards a driver's average.
"With Pool trips, there are things outside a driver's control that impact how riders rate the experience," Uber's Mike Truong and Ronak Trivedi wrote in a blog post. "For instance, was a rider unhappy with the match our algorithm made or was their co-rider too chatty? We believe that drivers' ratings shouldn't be affected by things outside their control."
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So now they won't be.
Meanwhile, Uber from now on will more prominently display rider ratings in the app. Rider ratings will show up right under a person's name in the app's main menu. In other words, you better mind your manners when you're in an Uber, or it might be a little harder to get a ride the next time you want to go out.
"Many riders forget that their driver is also rating them, too, and things like eating in the car, slamming the door, or trying to pile in more people than seatbelts can impact whether it's a 5-star experience for drivers," Truong and Trivedi wrote. "We hope this update will remind riders that mutual respect is an important part of our Community Guidelines."
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