1. The grading system in school is supposed to / used to be very similar, in that a C was actually average and very few people got As.

2. I don't want the driver to do anything "special", and I can't even imagine what that would be. Balloons? Played my favorite song on the radio? Just get me from here to there, I'm looking for transportation not an "experience".

The thought of only special, out of the ordinary rides getting a 5/5 is amusing to me. That's absolutely not the culture I want to experience as a rider. Even above-average levels of conversation can be distracting when I just want to quietly think about what I'll be doing at my destination. My ratings are basically either 5/5 or 1/5.

regarding 2), it's certainly fine if all you want is a ride from A to B, but there are plenty of other things that meaningfully improve the ride for me. maybe the driver is actually familiar with the area and knows a faster or more pleasant route than the one google maps picks. maybe it's a long ride and you have a genuinely interesting conversation that helps pass the time. maybe it's a hot day and they have bottled water in a cooler. maybe they have a much more comfortable car than you expected.

there should be room to acknowledge people that go above and beyond the requirements of their job without being punitive towards the people who do a fine but unremarkable job. I tip most drivers who don't completely fuck up the transportation part of the job, and I tip extra for really good rides, but I wish there were a way to recognize this in the ratings too.

Although "grade inflation" distorts this, the way it's supposed to be is that only a small percentage of students get "A"s. A means "exceptional", after all, and by definition most people aren't "exceptional".

They might be by yesterday’s standards (Flynn effect and all).

Flynn effect or not (and the evidence supporting the Flynn effect is weak at best), most people are not exceptional.

Even if the average is rising, the average is still the average. Only people far above average are "exceptional", even if the average person of today would be considered "exceptional" 100 years ago.

The normal distribution curve may (or may not) be sliding along the scale, but its shape doesn't change.