personally I'd like to see startups help to move us away from a tipping economy, kind of bummed when they added that

I'd be fine with no tipping if I thought the drivers were being paid reasonably but I don't think they are.

Yes, especially since I've heard horror stories about Uber drivers one-starring customers for not carrying cash.

I suppose I wonder why I would ever want to pay for a service where I will be rated for my qualities as a consumer of that same service.

I've never heard of anyone tipping an Uber driver. I'm not sure why they'd know if I have cash or not.

Yes, it's very telling that Lyft offers a suboptimal experience.

Not being pressured to carry cash is a suboptimal experience?

I refuse to carry cash. If I were to take Uber, I'd have drivers one-starring me and giving me a bad reputation for not tipping them. With Lyft, I can tip in the app and avoid all that mess.

You're not supposed to tip Uber drivers, that was one of the main selling points of Uber. The fares are higher than yellow cabs to compensate for that.

UberX is cheaper than yellow cabs in NYC/SF, but otherwise correct.

I've taken over a hundred Uber rides and literally never tipped. Nor have I ever had a driver who gave me a bad look for not tipping them. It's not expected and Uber actively discourages drivers from soliciting tips.

For the record, my rating was around 4.5 last time I checked so it doesn't seem like drivers are penalizing me for not tipping.

Not having to do the mental/social gymnastics of tipping is a big feature of the Uber experience for me.

> For the record, my rating was around 4.5 last time I checked so it doesn't seem like drivers are penalizing me for not tipping.

If you were a driver, a rating of 4.5 could get you kicked off the platform. So, yes, drivers are rating you poorly.

> If you were a driver, a rating of 4.5 could get you kicked off the platform. So, yes, drivers are rating you poorly.

Except I'm not a driver. 4.5 is, in any realistic rating system, perfectly fine.

Also, why do I care if you think I'm being rated poorly? It's not like it affects my experience in any way.

People tip Uber drivers? I've never done it or seen anyone else do it.

I wanted to once, didn't have any cash.

It was because the guy let me bring my dog (in her large cage) in his van which was definitely a bit beyond normal.

Do you have evidence of this? I didn't think it was possible to find out what drivers rated you and it seems odd that they'd expect a cash tip when the point of the system is that it's cashless.

Here's one: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/uber-driver-complaints-e...

> So we compiled a list of seven things you might be doing to annoy your Uber driver and destroy your rating. Avoid these behaviors to ensure a smooth ride for both you and your driver.

> 2. You don't tip.

From one of the biggest Uber driver blogs: http://therideshareguy.com/should-uber-passengers-tip-their-...

> I often see drivers referring to passengers that don’t tip as ‘cheap bastards’ or ‘pieces of shit’

> As a driver, if tips really are important to you, then you need to educate your passengers about how Uber used to pay a better wage and drivers were ok with not accepting tips and now that rates are lower, more and more drivers depend on tips to make a live-able wage.

You're clearly trying to push some pro-tipping agenda, but if all you can cite is a single Uber driver blog (who of course wants you to tip) that's pretty flimsy evidence.

The vast majority of Uber riders do not tip. [1] There's not an expectation that you do (even the driver blog you cited admits that). I don't really know why you're trying to create this perception that it's expected, but it certainly isn't.

[1] http://www.cnet.com/news/to-tip-or-not-to-tip-drivers-that-i...

Just how would a rider tip?