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Uber is getting tough on users with low ratings

Uber is getting tough on users with low ratings
Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

  • Updated:

Uber is going to start kicking users with consistently low ratings off the app

Love it or hate it, Uber has taken the world by storm. There aren’t many cities left in the world where you can’t hail a cab on the Uber app, and with self-driving cars and other innovations on the horizon, Uber’s influence around the world looks set to grow further.

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One of the main criticisms leveled at the taxi app, however, is the systematic deconstruction of established labor rights for taxi drivers. Uber drivers are self-employed, which means Uber isn’t subject to employee protection laws.

After years and years of fighting tooth and nail to exempt itself from an established employer/employee relationship, Uber is finally taking action to protect its drivers. It isn’t going to start providing them with sick pay or paid vacation, but Uber is going to try and protect Uber drivers from nasty customers.

In a bid to make Uber “enjoyable and safe for everyone” later this month, any users who have a consistently low rating will be kicked off the app. This is already the case in the U.S. but last week, Uber extended the policy to Australia and New Zealand. It could also be coming to the UK too.

Via Uber: Apparently, in Australia riding an Uber with no top on or in a string vest won’t score you a bad rating

If your rating starts dropping toward four stars, Uber will notify you that you need to improve your score and if you fail to do so, you’ll be kicked off the app. Anybody who is removed from the app will have to undertake a “shot educational exercise” to win back access to the Uber market.

Drivers have long been subject to stringent rules around ratings. U.S. drivers need a rating of 4.6 or higher if they want to keep their job. The threshold for customers will be a little lower, but it is good to see similar expectations falling on the riders as well as the drivers. As Uber now says in its updated community guidelines:

‘The way you behave while using Uber can have a big impact on the safety and comfort of drivers, as well as your fellow passengers. Courtesy matters. That’s why you are expected to exercise good judgment and behave decently towards other people in the car when riding with Uber — just as you would in any public place.”

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney is a news reporter for Softonic, keeping readers up to date on everything affecting their favorite apps and programs. His beat includes social media apps and sites like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat. Patrick also covers antivirus and security issues, web browsers, the full Google suite of apps and programs, and operating systems like Windows, iOS, and Android.

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