Uber Driver Ratings: How They Work and How To Improve

Who Can Leave an Uber Driver Rating?

Uber riders get a notification to leave a rating for their driver after each ride. Feedback is instantaneous, so riders are asked to leave feedback right away.

Ratings are anonymous, so drivers won’t be able to tell what passenger left what rating in any given circumstance.

How Do Uber Driver Ratings Work?

The Uber rating is probably the most crucial metric for Uber when working with its drivers.

It’s a real-time metric and an excellent way for Uber to see how drivers perform. Both riders and passengers get rated on a 5-star scale. A 5-star rating means there were no problems.

If passengers give drivers four stars or below, Uber asks for specific concerns about the driver that then get passed along. This lets drivers know where they may need to improve and gives Uber more information about their drivers.

It’s worth noting that all rides are graded equally. So, it doesn’t matter if you’re driving in a large city like New York, San Diego, or San Francisco, the suburbs, or anywhere in between. All ride ratings count the same.

What Is The Best Uber Driver Rating You Can Get?

A five-star rating is the best any driver can do for any particular ride. Note, though, that it’s almost impossible for drivers who work for Uber regularly to maintain a perfect rating, and it’s definitely not something Uber expects.

Different people will rate drivers differently, so drivers aren’t expected or required to carry only 5-star ratings.

What Happens If You Get a Bad Uber Driver Rating?

In general, isolated bad driver ratings aren’t something Uber is concerned with.

Of course, there are exceptions, like if a passenger has safety or conduct complaints. However, if a passenger just doesn’t have a great experience on one ride, that’s not generally a huge deal unless it becomes a pattern.

In addition, Uber set up its rating system to ensure that drivers don’t get bad ratings for things out of their control. As an example, a canceled ride won’t count against your average rating.

However, higher service tiers require low driver cancellation rates, so it’s not in your best interest to continually cancel rides once you’ve accepted!

In addition, if a rider gives a bad rating because of things like pricing or traffic, those also won’t count against your rating.

What Happens If You Get Many Bad Uber Driver Ratings?

If an Uber driver gets too many poor ratings, they risk losing their ability to drive for Uber.

That’s not the first outcome, though!

Uber gives drivers several outlets and warnings before account deactivation.

The other good news for Uber drivers is that the threshold to avoid deactivation or other warnings is around 4.6/5.

Uber reports that only 2-3% of drivers fall under that at any given time.

If you’re concerned about bad ratings, the easiest solution is to keep driving and getting high scores.

Enough high ratings more than cancel out isolated low scores.

Fewer Rides Warning

The first consequence of poor ratings is just that you’ll have access to fewer rides.

This is because Uber limits the higher tiers of service to drivers with the highest ratings.

In addition, riders are more likely to take rides from drivers with high ratings.

Uber passengers can see driver ratings when the ride gets accepted.

Drivers with lower ratings will have more rides canceled.

Removal of Driving Privileges

Uber continually reviews driver ratings and can deactivate accounts for riders they feel aren’t performing to standard.

This could happen for safety concerns, passenger complaints, or generally low ratings.

The deactivation process can take several weeks to go through, and drivers receive notifications along the way.

If a driver’s account gets deactivated, it is sometimes possible to get it back.

Uber offers improvement courses as a requirement for that.

Drivers should know, though, that there aren’t any guarantees that you’ll be able to get a driver account back after you get deactivated once.

What Happens If You Get Good Uber Driver Ratings?

Being a great driver for Uber provides very tangible benefits. The most tangible is that it opens up higher tiers of service.

As an example, Uber Black is Uber’s premium service. Uber Black matches riders with top-rated drivers in luxury vehicles. Premium here means higher cost and a potentially higher tip.

To qualify for Uber Black, though, drivers have to maintain a rating of at least 4.85.

Uber Pro

In addition to access to higher-paying rides, good driver ratings are also helpful for Uber Pro.

If you haven’t heard of Uber Pro before, it’s essentially Uber’s driver rewards program.

With rewards ranging from cashback on gas all the way to free tuition coverage, Uber has gone a long way to incentivize drivers to keep driving and getting high ratings.

How Does Uber Pro Work?

Rewards get split up into four tiers: Partner, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.

Uber drivers get points for each completed ride.

Meet the minimum threshold for a level, and you’re in!

As drivers get to the higher tiers like Platinum and Diamond, you can earn rewards like free online tuition and free dent coverage.

So if you’re driving for Uber, it makes a ton of sense to try to get to these tiers.

How Do You Get Uber Pro?

Riders need to maintain a 4.85 average rating and a less than 4% cancellation rate to qualify for Uber Pro.

In other words, canceling a lot of rides will impact you here.

Even the lowest tier offers 5% cashback on gas purchases, so not being part of Uber Pro will impact your total earnings.

How Do You Keep Uber Pro?

The answer here is pretty simple: Keep completing rides and getting good ratings!

Aside from needing to maintain your 4.85 average rating, you will need to complete a certain number of trips per 90 days to keep your level.

So, to stay in the Diamond tier, you need to be driving a lot.

Uber reviews on a rolling basis and moves drivers up and down levels depending on the most recent performance.

How to Check Your Uber Driver Ratings

As you can see, maintaining a high average rating is essential for Uber drivers who want to maximize their earnings.

So knowing how to find your current rating at any given time is something you’ll want to know how to do.

Fortunately, Uber makes it simple!

Step by Step Instructions

1. Open the driver app on your mobile device and touch the menu bar.
2. Look for your name and photo. Your rating is displayed underneath.

Your driver rating and rider rating will be different, so to check your rider rating, you’ll need to go into the normal Uber app.

Note here that you’ll only be able to see your overall average rather than for specific rides.

Uber has recently offered riders more insight into their Uber passenger rating, but that functionality isn’t currently available for drivers.

How to Challenge an Uber Driver Rating

Currently, Uber doesn’t offer an official way for a driver to challenge a poor rating.

Because drivers can only see the average rating and not for specific rides, there’s no mechanism to know when you get a low rating or who might have left it.

Remember that Uber will cancel out bad ratings for things like traffic and pricing.

In addition, Uber investigates 1- and 2-star ratings to help protect drivers.

Still, it’s definitely frustrating when you see your rating drop.

If you’re a regular driver, though, isolated bad ratings won’t hurt your overall standing much at all.

For example, for drivers with 500+ rides, a 1-star rating will drop your overall rating by less than .01 points.

Contacting Uber Driver Support: Step by Step Instructions

If you have concerns about a ride or anything else, Uber offers an always-available phone number for driver support.

1. Open your Uber Driver app on your phone.
2. Tap the menu icon.
3. Tap “Help.”
4. Uber provides a list of common issues. Click the one that you’re experiencing.
5. If phone support is available for that issue, click on “Call Support.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrapping Up

For Uber drivers, driver ratings are the most important metric you have. It’s essential to strive for the highest possible rating to get access to the highest tiers of service and rewards.

That means more money for you in the short and the long run. Because ratings are anonymous, they can feel like a bit of a black box, but don’t worry!

Just do your best to be on time and respectful, and your rating will most often reflect it.