Uber Now Warns Riders When Their Actions Annoy Drivers

In the same way a rider can rate their driver in Uber, an Uber driver can rate the rider, and sometimes those ratings are less than stellar. Historically the driver's ratings were kept secret, helping other drivers make a decision about who they will transport while keeping things hidden away from the rider. Uber's newest feature, though, changes that a bit.

Uber's latest way of letting riders know how drivers felt about them comes in the form of a behavior advisement, one that alerts riders if two or more drivers had the same complaint about them. Per the company, drivers can now choose a star rating for the rider that includes pre-inserted reasons for why the driver may rate the passenger at less than 5 stars.

These reasons vary, and include stuff like having too many riders, changing the route after the trip starts, having an attitude, being impatient, and more. The rider won't know the driver was upset with them about this unless a second driver selects the same reason for a sub-5 rating. In that case, a notification pops up in the rider's app.

That notification advises the rider that drivers aren't happy about the particular behavior they're engaging in, enabling the rider to change their behavior for more favorable ratings in the future.

It seems this move hopes to not just help drivers be more selective about which passengers they pick up, but also modify rider behavior so that ratings go up and those customers are more likely to get rides. Of course, this depends on the rider taking the criticism to heart.

SOURCE: The Verge