[kiku007]

What if Uber riders were given the option to filter cabs by the driver rating? Airbnb has it. Zomato has it. Just a matter of time before Uber or Ola has it.

It'll throw an interesting set of outcomes.

[PetrolRider]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Had you booked and cancelled any of your trips previously? Über is now charging Rs 50 for every cancellation. This will be automatically added to your fare the next time you Uber. Check in Your Trips, it should reflect your charges every time you have cancelled.

Yeah, they charge Rs50/- if cancellation of cab is after 5 minutes of booking. A cancellation before 5 minutes will not attract any charge.

Moreover, if the cancellation had been done for a proper reason, like driver denying or taking too much of time than usual, a complain can be raised which will direct you through a selected set of questions and as per filling them, the amount would be reversed.

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

That ratings system has become an eyewash now.

Absolutely not true - if that was the case you would've seen a lot of drivers with 3.5 or below rating - which isn't the case because driver accounts are suspended when the rating goes below 3.5

Originally Posted by dark.knight

1) 4.1-4.4 : The driver will be terrible 99% of the time, he'll be a boor, or blast the worst music possible through the speakers at full volume, or drive by using one hand to talk over phone or cant read the GPS to save his life.

2) 4.5 : The driver will be below average, most of them may be nice, but sorely inexperienced, might need a bit of help with directions and might even enter one-ways from the opposite direction by mistake if you don't monitor them.

Driver ratings are calculated based on the last 500 rides - so they change ever so slightly almost every single day.
You claim at 99% of drivers with rating of 4.1-4.4 are terrible - in that case why are all of their riders rating them at-least a 4 every time? If they are really that terrible as you claim to be, then they should be getting rated a 1 or 2 by most riders - which would result in their average rating dropping to below 3.5 in about two weeks and lead to suspension of their account. Even if 3 out of 10 riders are to rate these drivers a 1 or 2 - the average still goes down to as low as 3.2.
Going by the above calculations it seems what you are claiming is either blatant generalization, exaggeration or your assumption.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

3) 4.6 : Most of these ratings are safe, but riders are usually too generous with giving high marks. Most of the time you'll have a relaxed ride with this rating.

Too generous? Again an assumption. 4.6 is the global driver average for Uber - wherein riders have a pleasant experience 6 out of 10 times. Please do not undermine the driver efforts.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

4) 4.7+ : 99+% you're guaranteed of a proper Uber experience

This is where the Top 5% drivers fall into - getting rated 5 stars 9 out of 10 times. Unfortunately your expectations seem to be really really high as you feel this is just a 'normal' Uber experience.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

this clearly shows the ratings aren't as accurate as needed to be.

Ratings are given by riders - not by Uber - so are you implying that ALL other people who also take an Uber regularly fail to give proper ratings?

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Solution? Though a bit cumbersome to rate, the new tally should be based on 10 points where under 7 is bad, 7-8 is average and 9+ is excellent. Also it must be a rule of thumb that drivers switch off the stereo by default when a passenger is entering, and ask permission if necessary to have it on.

The current rating system is simple - 5 is great and 4 is ok. Anything below that is a fail. It's working well here in India and globally - why complicate things?

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Passenger ratings must be scrapped, they chose to be in this field of earning and I do not think they have a right to rate those that pay them

How conveniently arrogant!!
Just like you expect a certain level of service from the driver - as a rider you are expected to be nice to the driver as well.
Unfortunately in India a lot of riders:
- Assume that Driver=Uneducated=Poor so one can talk rudely and nothing will happen.
- I'm paying so I own the vehicle - hence I shall sit the way I want, even if it soils the seats/door panels, I shall demand an aux cable like it's my birth-right or want to pair by phone to the vehicle bluetooth! Smoke in the car - the list goes on!
- Expect the driver to load their heavy bags into the car - without offering a helping hand!

These are just a few examples - which are extremely common - so why shouldn't a driver be allowed to rate if the rider has been unpleasant? It's totally fair - and fyi - a low rider rating can actually make it difficult for that person to get an Uber because most drivers shall not accept the booking of that rider.
Reporting a rider is ONLY for serious concerns or life threatening situations - and Uber has a dedicated team 24/7 to address them.

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Über is now charging Rs 50 for every cancellation.

Cancellation fee is not a flat Rs.50 -- it depends on the category of vehicle you have booked. Ex. For UberBlack the cancellation fee is Rs.150.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Had you booked and cancelled any of your trips previously? Über is now charging Rs 50 for every cancellation. This will be automatically added to your fare the next time you Uber. Check in Your Trips, it should reflect your charges every time you have cancelled.

You're right about this, and it has happened to me in the past.

However, in the trip i was referring to it wasn't the case. It was most probably due to very heavy traffic... though i was still surprised by such a big change in the "pre-calculated" fee.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by kiku007

What if Uber riders were given the option to filter cabs by the driver rating? Airbnb has it. Zomato has it. Just a matter of time before Uber or Ola has it.

It'll throw an interesting set of outcomes.

It is already inbuilt but rather not upto user to choose. I had discussion with one uber driver. He said if there are multiple cabs in the area, the driver with max ratings gets allocated first to the any user who books in that area. The uber guys many times request to give good rating.

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by shipnil

He said if there are multiple cabs in the area, the driver with max ratings gets allocated first to the any user who books in that area.

That's not true. Trip allocation is purely location based - the driver closest to your location will get the booking. It's not related to ratings in any way.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

That's not true. Trip allocation is purely location based - the driver closest to your location will get the booking. It's not related to ratings in any way.

What is the source of the information you have? What if there are two cabs available at the exact spot? Who gets the booking then? Quite a common occurrence in my area.

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by shipnil

What is the source of the information you have? What if there are two cabs available at the exact spot? Who gets the booking then? Quite a common occurrence in my area.

Source of the information I have?
- Me! I'm a full time Uber driver!

Even if there are two cabs at the exact same spot, one of them would always be ever so slightly closer to the rider location - so will get the booking first!

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by shipnil

What is the source of the information you have? What if there are two cabs available at the exact spot? Who gets the booking then? Quite a common occurrence in my area.

Whoever accepts it first is my guess.

This happened yesterday. My wife books an Uber. Driver calls up and refuses the destination. He cancels.

My wife tries to book again. The same driver accepts the booking. She cancels immediately.

I try with my phone. The same goddamn driver accepts the booking. I also cancel immediately.

Then this is what we did. I tried booking again, the same driver accepts the booking. As soon as he does, wife tries again and finally gets a different driver. As soon as she speaks to the driver, I cancel my booking. No cancellation charges thankfully.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

That's not true. Trip allocation is purely location based - the driver closest to your location will get the booking. It's not related to ratings in any way.

Sorry but I don't think this is true.

I've booked an Uber several times where there's an uber 10 meters from my location, but instead it gives me one 200-500 meters away, sometimes still "finishing a previous trip".

Here's a random list of factors other than proximity that could affect the selection:

1) Time elapsed since last trip (this would be the fair way to do it, and avoids the fight that black and yellow taxis always have about who's car is positioned closest to the corner / first in line / last in line etc)

2) If the Uber driver has chosen to return-home, and the passenger requesting a ride happens to be going in that direction, uber is likely to pair them. (Drivers can only request to return in the direction of home 2 times a day)

3) The class of cab (why waste an UberX on a guy requesting an UberGo if there's a UberGo just 50 meters further away)

4) Driver rating / Rating matching. If a 4.9-star Uber user requests a cab, perhaps he deserves a higher rated driver? If there's a driver with a 4.8 star rating who's almost as close as a 4.0-star driver, maybe he should be given preference?

3 & 4 are just long-shot guesses that probably don't have major weightage, but I'm fairly sure point 1 & 2 are in use in their matching algo.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Whoever accepts it first is my guess.

This happened yesterday. My wife books an Uber. Driver calls up and refuses the destination. He cancels.

My wife tries to book again. The same driver accepts the booking. She cancels immediately.

I try with my phone. The same goddamn driver accepts the booking. I also cancel immediately.

Then this is what we did. I tried booking again, the same driver accepts the booking. As soon as he does, wife tries again and finally gets a different driver. As soon as she speaks to the driver, I cancel my booking. No cancellation charges thankfully.

Don't try this too much, There is a cancellation limit set by uber - not sure about the number. if you cancel that many times consequtively, your account gets blocked temporarily. My sister found out the hard way when she was trying to catch a cab and drivers kept refusing, and got stuck. Finally she installed the ola app and got a taxi

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Whoever accepts it first is my guess.

This happened yesterday. My wife books an Uber. Driver calls up and refuses the destination. He cancels.

Drivers aren't supposed to ask the destination before starting the ride - please report this driver by going into your trip history. Lately there has been an increasing trend of drivers asking for the destination - all thanks to Uber extending it's services till Virar and Kalyan / Panvel from where it's almost impossible to get a return trip. That said it's still not allowed to ask the destination so what's wrong is wrong!

@Rehaan

1. Trips going to the driver with the maximum wait time has been WIP since quite sometime, but I don't see it has started because I myself have got bookings purely based on proximity and have seen another driver who was waiting since before me not getting the same.
2. The HOME trip option (which u rightly said can be chosen twice a day) does not prioritize that driver in any way - again I say this from personal experience.

[Eddy]

Oh yes, he was reported right.

@greenhorn: we needed a cab immediately and did not have any other option. Haven't used OLA ever.

[kiku007]

Different views and we don't know for sure how the Uber algorithm really works.

There's even a Quora post (Credibility is a ?) that mentions that Uber wouldn't pair a Driver-Rider if either of them had given a <3 star rating earlier to the other.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

Driver ratings are calculated based on the last 500 rides - so they change ever so slightly almost every single day.
You claim at 99% of drivers with rating of 4.1-4.4 are terrible - in that case why are all of their riders rating them at-least a 4 every time? If they are really that terrible as you claim to be, then they should be getting rated a 1 or 2 by most riders - which would result in their average rating dropping to below 3.5 in about two weeks and lead to suspension of their account. Even if 3 out of 10 riders are to rate these drivers a 1 or 2 - the average still goes down to as low as 3.2.
Going by the above calculations it seems what you are claiming is either blatant generalization, exaggeration or your assumption.

Every time I have used an Uber, the driver has requested for a 5 star rating.

Unlike most BHP-ians who are particular about the way a driver drives, the rest just want to reach their destination as soon as possible. They don't care if he is jerky, drives aggressively or anything.
They reach, driver asks to be rated 5 stars, they rate him 5 stars and go on their merry way.

Regarding the car being dirty or smelly - most of the time we choose UberGo which we know is the cheapest option available and similar to a regular taxi in terms of cleanliness, so don't have high expectations on that front either unless the car is an extreme example.
At least this is what I have experienced, and seen with my friends too.

Personally though - I wish there was a way for Uber/Ola to monitor how the driver drives (speed limits), and behaves when not on a trip (such as refusing a destination). Have seen a lot of rashly driven ubers - mainly Xcents.
Would be great if there was a way to monitor car condition also - our Xylo tyre went flat at 120kmph on the Hyderabad Ring Road. Luckily I heard the tyre go flat and asked the driver to stop before anything more serious could have happened (think dirty abused Xylo, with worn out tyres, suspension, poor alignment and balancing, etc.)