Comment by criddell
2 days ago
What do you propose? Should Uber/Lyft train their drivers better to pick up on social cues to know when to engage and when to shut up and drive? Should they do more to make sure their drivers have good hygiene and manners?
Like every company does with their employees?
After every ride the rider can vote on the driver. At least on Uber the driver gets 'punished' is his rating falls below 4. The driver will loose his rank benefits. As a rider you got to use the start. If it's ok, then 5. If there is something wrong, less than 5. Simple as that. As most people are voting 5 they seem to be over all ok with the overall service.
To be honest I'm afraid to rate low. I suspect I'll get flagged as a bad rater and banned from Uber/Lyft. So, if the ride is bad I just don't rate and don't tip. Even not tipping is scary to me given it's all tracked and they know me as a customer.
Another issue which I wish they'd add and related to rating, every person has a different preference. My preference is a safe driver who obeys traffic laws. Others people preferences are a driver who gets there as fast as possible, even if that means speeding, cutting people off, running red lights, etc... I've recorded drivers regualarly going 15-20 miles over the speed limit.
I wish I could put that preference in to the app and it would tell the driver, "this person will give you a higher rating if you drive safely and don't break any traffic laws". I'm not sure they could put the other "this passenger prefers quick service" without implying things.
Scaryiest Uber/Lyft I've had the driver was checking their stock portfolio on their smartphone while driving.
It's not really a ride share problem. It's simply another crack showing how hard it is to just talk to people these days. There's a dozen other things to address first before I'd try to "make people be social in cars". funding into a variety of public spaces, better public transportation, regulating dating apps, better community outreach for events that already exist. I could go on.