If you make tips "optional", they will quickly become customary and expected. That does not seem like a feature.

When it comes to tips, I greatly prefer the European model, in which people neither expect nor offer tips under normal circumstances. Pay people to do a job, and pay them enough to want to do that job and do it well. Don't rely on customers to make up the difference.

Not when the transfer isn't made face-to-face. And it defaults to 0. So it actually is more like "the European model".

I've already seen reports of Lyft drivers rating passengers entirely based on whether they received a tip.

I haven't driven in awhile but I don't recall that being possible. Drivers do not see the tips until the next day, long after they've had a chance to rate riders.

So? As a driver, wouldn't you rather go after a fare that does tip instead of one that doesn't?

One of many reasons I mentioned that "they will quickly become customary and expected".

So? One of the things about being a contractor is they're supposed to be able to choose the fares they want. They're doing the economically rational thing of choosing fares that net them more profit.

Lyft offers in-app tipping. Uber inexplicably does not.

1. The absence of tipping is a feature. Uber was originally a premium service. Many premium services explicitly discourage tipping.

2. Driver ratings replace the primary function of tipping, which is to incentivize good service and leave feedback.

That said, I very occasionally leave a tip in extraordinary circumstances, and would not be opposed to a way to do that in-app, as long as it was very clear it's not expected (hide behind 5-star rating, call it a "bonus" or something).

The thing is... the driver rating isn't really a real "rating" any more. It's terrifically skewed because everyone knows the drivers basically have to be a level 5 or else they'll essentially get fired.

I feel terrible giving anyone a 4 or below because I know they might get banned from the platform and possibly lose their livelihood. Even if they're a mediocre driver, can't speak English, don't know where they're going and have a smelly car, I don't want that on my conscience that they get fired and can't feed their kids or pay for school.

Most people are aware of know how hard Uber is on their drivers and so now it's become that unless the driver commits an egregious act (road rage, wrong way down a 1 way street, unsafe practices, sexually inappropriate comments) everyone universally gets 5s. If Uber really wanted real rankings they would encourage ACTUAL feedback and have some sort of training and remediation process, not just banning people people if their rating drops below 4.7.

I find tipping frequently awkward but never so in a Lyft. I get a company Lyft credit for trips to/from office so almost always tip on those. For personal trips, I feel no pressure to tip but appreciate the opportunity to do so. I recall a trip to the hotel from Disneyland with 2 toddlers in pouring rain that took 40 minutes to go 3 miles with a total fare of something like $8. That's an easy tip situation.

Ratings don't replace the feature, as you don't really choose your driver.

Uber fires drivers with low ratings, so you do, just not directly.

Ahh. Wasn't aware of that. I found a screenshot, and it's an odd, non-obvious way to allow tipping:

http://www.sarahdoody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/lyft-ux...

I wonder how much that keeps it from being used.

That's actually not what the tipping screen looks like now. Here's what it's looked like since 2014 http://thehub.lyft.com/blog/2014/10/13/revamped-pay-screen

Please no. Death to tipping!