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Uber Accident

S

shortcrust

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 7, 2008
476
105
I ordered an Uber taxi last night by mistake. I was waiting at a bus stop after a pint with my mate and I looked at the Uber app out of curiosity. Covered the watch to put it to sleep (what's the word/phrase for doing that?) and thought no more about it. Five minutes later my watch buzzes and there's a taxi pulling up! It took it home and it was only double the bus fare so it all worked out ok, but I'll be more careful in future.

Uber only came to my city last month. I was happy to get free chocolate from the driver. I tipped with cash. Do most people tip Uber taxis?
 
shortcrust said:
I ordered an Uber taxi last night by mistake. I was waiting at a bus stop after a pint with my mate and I looked at the Uber app out of curiosity. Covered the watch to put it to sleep (what's the word/phrase for doing that?) and thought no more about it. Five minutes later my watch buzzes and there's a taxi pulling up! It took it home and it was only double the bus fare so it all worked out ok, but I'll be more careful in future.

Uber only came to my city last month. I was happy to get free chocolate from the driver. I tipped with cash. Do most people tip Uber taxis?
Click to expand...

I've never personally used Uber but my buddy who lives in DC uses it all the time, so this may be totally wrong. He told me that the driver's "tip" is their star rating. They only want the best drivers possible working for them, so to continue driving, you have to meet a certain "star" rating.

That might be total BS though. He is a cheap ass so maybe that show he convinces himself to not tip :)
 
shortcrust said:
I ordered an Uber taxi last night by mistake. I was waiting at a bus stop after a pint with my mate and I looked at the Uber app out of curiosity. Covered the watch to put it to sleep (what's the word/phrase for doing that?) and thought no more about it. Five minutes later my watch buzzes and there's a taxi pulling up! It took it home and it was only double the bus fare so it all worked out ok, but I'll be more careful in future.

Uber only came to my city last month. I was happy to get free chocolate from the driver. I tipped with cash. Do most people tip Uber taxis?
Click to expand...

You're not required or expected to give the driver a tip, and they are not allowed to ask for one. You always can give them one if you want to, but all Uber driver's are supposed to reiterate tipping is not necessary even if one is offered.
 
First of all, great story! In answer to your question, Uber says that passengers do not have to tip Uber drivers, but it is always a nice gesture if you've had a nice ride and the drivers very, very much appreciate it because they don't make a lot of money.

If the driver was nice and gave you a piece of chocolate, I'd say he/she definitely deserved a tip!
 
At least you didn't get lynched as you might have been if in Paris these last couple of days ;-))
 
toph2toast said:
I've never personally used Uber but my buddy who lives in DC uses it all the time, so this may be totally wrong. He told me that the driver's "tip" is their star rating. They only want the best drivers possible working for them, so to continue driving, you have to meet a certain "star" rating.

That might be total BS though. He is a cheap ass so maybe that show he convinces himself to not tip :)
Click to expand...

Uber has very high standards for their drivers. You must maintain in most markets at least a 4.7 to continue driving. The rating does take into consideration how many trips you have made. Once you slip to 4.6 or lower, they will let you know that you must raise your rating, otherwise you may be deactivated and will not be allowed to drive on the platform. Although this is a very tight standard, it will cull out the drivers that don't give a positive experience.

Uber leans towards a 'no cash needed' idealism, as that you don't need to carry cash to pay for the ride as all payments is handled through the app and unlike Lyft does not allow tips to be added on through the app itself.
 
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I won't use Uber anymore after they sent me a driver who couldn't figure out where the airport was (tried to drop me off in the middle of town), made several wrong turns, etc. Had my flight not been delayed, I would have missed it. Had to fight to get my money back too.
 
Denmac1 said:
Uber has very high standards for their drivers. You must maintain in most markets at least a 4.7 to continue driving. The rating does take into consideration how many trips you have made. Once you slip to 4.6 or lower, they will let you know that you must raise your rating, otherwise you may be deactivated and will not be allowed to drive on the platform. Although this is a very tight standard, it will cull out the drivers that don't give a positive experience.

Uber leans towards a 'no cash needed' idealism, as that you don't need to carry cash to pay for the ride as all payments is handled through the app and unlike Lyft does not allow tips to be added on through the app itself.
Click to expand...

That is how most people are now...no cash on hand. Since I cannot add a tip through the app, I usually cannot tip =/
 
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I've been using Uber pretty regularly since it first began here in NYC and I have never tipped - primarily because I'm sure that when it first started, the app explained that tipping was built into the rates, and a cash tip was not expected or accepted. I'm sure I read that in the app FAQ's section a long time ago, even though I can't find it now.

I rarely carry cash, and now you guys have me worried that I should be tipping the driver directly. Don't get me wrong, when I take a regular taxi, I always tip... I just believed tipping was included in the rates with Uber. :/
 
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You're not expected to tip. I only ever tipped once, when the guy helped me load my 100 pound TV in the back.
 
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SoloStyle said:
I've been using Uber pretty regularly since it first began here in NYC and I have never tipped - primarily because I'm sure that when it first started, the app explained that tipping was built into the rates, and a cash tip was not expected or accepted. I'm sure I read that in the app FAQ's section a long time ago, even though I can't find it now.

I rarely carry cash, and now you guys have me worried that I should be tipping the driver directly. Don't get me wrong, when I take a regular taxi, I always tip... I just believed tipping was included in the rates with Uber. :/
Click to expand...

There are several different Uber platforms. The ones that got a tip was the more expensive service known as Uber Taxi. UberX which is the larger majority of drivers do not get a percentage of the fare. In fact, Uber deducts $1 from the total fare as a 'Safe Rider Fee', which covers what Uber pays out for insurance. Uber then takes a 20% cut from the remainder. So for a $20 ride, the driver gets $15.20 and we pay for our own gas & maintenance.
 
shortcrust said:
I ordered an Uber taxi last night by mistake. I was waiting at a bus stop after a pint with my mate and I looked at the Uber app out of curiosity. Covered the watch to put it to sleep (what's the word/phrase for doing that?) and thought no more about it. Five minutes later my watch buzzes and there's a taxi pulling up! It took it home and it was only double the bus fare so it all worked out ok, but I'll be more careful in future.

Uber only came to my city last month. I was happy to get free chocolate from the driver. I tipped with cash. Do most people tip Uber taxis?
Click to expand...
Thanks I guess....... why wouldn't you tip if you felt it appropriate? That's up to you. I believe it's built into the cost so don't feel obligated.
 
Did you know Uber drivers get to rate their passengers too? So when you get out, just like you are given the option to give your driver stars out of 5, they get the same option for you! In NYC recently a really friendly uber driver told me that some of the uber black drivers won't pick anyone up with less than 4.5 stars!! Remember that next time you take one:)
 
AFDoc said:
Thanks I guess....... why wouldn't you tip if you felt it appropriate? That's up to you. I believe it's built into the cost so don't feel obligated.
Click to expand...

Nope, tipping is not built into the cost. As I stated above, it's understandable that many people use the Uber app because they don't have to worry about cash. To a point, that's OK, but many of us drivers work hard to give first class service. It's interesting that many people feel obligated to tip taxi drivers. In reality, that's what we do...and for much cheaper.
 
Tipping is a ridiculous policy and should be abolished everywhere. Not by law, because that would also be silly, but just by social standards. I love the fact that Uber discourages tipping.

"We investigated the link between tipping, an altruistic act, and bribery, an immoral act. We found a positive relationship between these two seemingly unrelated behaviors, using archival cross-national data for 32 countries, and controlling for per capita GDP, income inequality, and other factors. Countries that had higher rates of tipping behavior tended to have higher rates of corruption. We suggest that this surprising association may be accounted for by temporal focus—people may tip and bribe others in order to receive special services in the future. Indeed, in a pair of follow-up survey studies, we find evidence that the link between tipping and bribery can be partly accounted for by prospective orientation."

http://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/9491448
 
bushido said:
such a shame Uber is illegal here
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Its not a shame at all. Uber is a corporate that kills taxi agencies worldwide with a people who are not trained in passenger transportation. The money the drivers make would be way below minimum wage. Therefore they have to be self employed and that will kill their old age pension.
 
iPhysicist said:
Its not a shame at all. Uber is a corporate that kills taxi agencies worldwide with a people who are not trained in passenger transportation. The money the drivers make would be way below minimum wage. Therefore they have to be self employed and that will kill their old age pension.
Click to expand...

but it is way more convenient than a taxi is most places. I can have an uber at my door in 5 minutes, a taxi takes 30.
 
mattopotamus said:
but it is way more convenient than a taxi is most places. I can have an uber at my door in 5 minutes, a taxi takes 30.
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And cheaper. Uber, besides doing a background check and requiring proof of insurance, now has veteran drivers do physical checks of new drivers. Besides the training videos, new drivers have to prove themselves in a car inspection and a driving test. (There is also a mandatory car inspection by certified mechanics, done yearly.)
 
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