How do Uber Drivers Rate Passengers? (Solved & Explained)

Are you obsessed with knowing just what other people think of you? Passengers who spend a lot of time on ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft often want to know how they compare to other riders. They also need to know how this rating will impact their ability to take more rides in the future.

How do Uber drivers rate passengers?

Uber drivers must rate passengers based on their perception of how the ride went. They use criteria like how long they were kept waiting, how respectful a passenger was, and whether a rider made a mess in their vehicle.

It is best to be polite, tidy, and respectful if riders want a good score.

Are Uber/Lyft Drivers Required to Rate Passengers?

Many passengers wonder whether their Uber or Lyft driver is going to be giving them a rating at the end of the ride. The anticipation of this rating can keep riders on their toes, aiming for a high rating.

However, they often want to know whether their drivers are certain to give them a rating of any kind.

Before a ride can be marked as complete, drivers are required to give passengers a rating.

This ensures that a passenger must always be on their very best behavior if they want to continue to have a high rating.

What Are the Criteria Rideshare Drivers Use to Rate Passengers?

Every driver has different criteria that they use to rate passengers. Most drivers admit that a rider starts with a premium five-star rating that only changes when they encounter certain types of behavior. For each of these annoying traits, your driver may begin to knock you down a few points and ruin your overall rating.

Generally speaking, it helps to be polite, tidy, and respectful toward your driver. Maintaining these three attributes still appears to be difficult for some riders, but following them does score you a higher rating.

• It starts by making yourself available at the pickup location on time instead of making the driver wait for your arrival.
• From there, you should politely introduce yourself, refrain from slamming car doors, and try to keep all messes you create to an absolute minimum.
• While it is impossible in some circumstances to avoid a mess, you should do the best you can to minimize it.

Drivers are also more apt to give you the coveted five-star rating if you are willing to leave them a tip.

Tips are not required, but most drivers do appreciate them and reflect their value in the passenger rating.

Keep an eye on our article which explains about Do Uber Drivers Check ID and/or Phone Numbers?

Can You See How an Uber/Lyft Driver Rated You?

Before you rate your driver, many riders wish they could see just how their driver ranked them in comparison to their other passengers.

Unfortunately, the individual score is not available. Your overall rating is determined by the average of your past one hundred rides.

While you may be able to get some inkling of how a particular driver rated you based on how this number changes, it will be extremely difficult to get an accurate idea.

Riders who are relatively new to the platform stand a better chance of figuring out their ratings for a specific ride.

What is a Good and Bad Uber/Lyft Rating for Passengers?

Everyone wants to obtain that perfect five-star rating on their Uber and Lyft rider accounts, but is it realistic? A good score on either of these platforms depends largely on where you live.

It is rare to see people with scores that reach above 4.9 unless you live in a particularly small town.

Major cities frequently see some less-than-perfect scores, so it’s important to know what a good and bad score looks like:

• Most people should aim to have a score between 4.7 and 4.9. While it is not a perfect score, this is a realistic range that most people can aim for.
• An acceptable score is just slightly lower with ratings ranging from 4.5 to 4.6.
• Scores below 4.5 mean that drivers may want to take caution before agreeing to pick you up. Drivers do get to see your passenger rating before agreeing to accept your ridesharing request.

If your score dips below what they consider to be an acceptable number, you may find yourself waiting quite a while for an Uber or Lyft driver to come to pick you up.

What Happens if Your Uber/Lyft Rating is Low?

The main issue for those with low ratings on Uber and Lyft is the sudden decline in rides. Drivers are more hesitant to go out of their way to pick up a passenger with a low score.

In turn, this means that your ride request will be sent to drivers who are located even farther away from your pickup location.

• These drivers are then less likely to pick you up because of your low rating and the distance from their current destination.
• It creates a huge snowball effect that can leave you stranded at an inopportune moment at an unsafe or inconvenient location.
• While this is the most worrisome thing that is likely to happen to you at first, consistently low ratings may spell bigger issues for Uber passengers.
• You are expected to be respectful and polite to your drivers.

This alone is often enough to earn you a four- to five-star rating. If you are consistently earning ratings below this, you may have your account suspended.

Can Uber/Lyft Drivers Refuse you Based on Your Rating?

When a ride request is sent to a driver, they can see very limited information about the passenger. They cannot see your gender, phone number, or even your name.

All of these precautions are put into place so that it is more difficult for drivers to discriminate against certain races or genders. However, they can see your rating.

A driver is allowed to refuse any passenger they choose, though it does affect their acceptance rate.

Many drivers do discriminate based on your overall rating. If you have a low score, they may only pick you up if you are conveniently located nearby.

They may even be less likely to wait for you to arrive at the pickup location. If you find yourself without a ride through Uber or Lyft, you may want to try to take a few more trips with the end goal of improving your rating in mind.

Does Tipping Affect Your Uber/Lyft Rating?

Tipping is not a requirement on these ridesharing apps, but many drivers appreciate the extra thought (and the extra money in their pocket). A driver is more apt to give passengers a better score if there is a tip involved at the end of the ride.

However, it should be noted that a tip may not make up for exceptionally awful behavior in the back of the vehicle.

If you created a significant mess, were extremely rude to the driver, slammed doors, and other signs of poor behavior, a tip may not be enough to make up for your general lack of regard for the driver.

Can Uber/Lyft Drivers Write Comments About Passengers?

Unfortunately, drivers are not able to leave comments about passengers at this time. Instead, they can leave a detailed rating that covers some of the major aspects of ridesharing.

Topics like your overall attitude, wait time, alternate directions, and more are all included in the survey that drivers must complete after each ride.

While this does not allow specific comments or compliments, it does give a great overview of the rider experience.

It takes drivers only a few moments to fill out the survey between rides and grants passengers some insight into where they could potentially improve their behavior to boost their rider rating.

How Often do Uber/Lyft Update Passenger Ratings?

Are you anxious to see what your latest driver rated you? Many people try to micromanage their scores and keep close tabs on their overall passenger ratings. Uber makes it easier for riders to see how they score, but it is not impossible to stay up to date with Lyft.

Uber updates its passenger ratings in real-time.

This means that you should be able to see the change in your score immediately following one of your rides. Keep in mind that your driver may not necessarily fill out the survey immediately. It may take them a couple of hours to get around to it. You also always have access to your passenger ratings on Uber.

Lyft makes it a bit more difficult but you do not have access to your passenger ratings.

Drivers can see your score at all times, so it may benefit you to ask your driver if you are curious about how you compare to others.

It can take several days for your score to update on Lyft. This is in part because drivers have several days to go back and modify the original score they left you.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding this because it means that drivers can go back and give higher ratings to riders who tipped generously once their income reports come out.

Final Thoughts

Understanding the rating system for Uber and Lyft is important if you want to continue earning rides through these programs.

While each driver will make their own determination of how many stars you receive, you can definitely do your part to make each ride an enjoyable experience!

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