Uber Passengers In DC Area Among The Worst Behaved, Survey Says

WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington, D.C., area has the third worst-rated Uber riders in the country.

Uber conducted a survey and found that its drivers handed out the third-fewest stars to passengers in the D.C. area.

The ride-sharing app lets drivers rate riders from one to five stars, and allows riders to rate their drivers. Uber drivers base their ratings on a variety of factors including cleanliness, punctuality, safety and overall respect for the driver and other passengers, according to the company.

The lowest-ranked metropolitan area was New York City. Seattle had the second-lowest average rider rating, with D.C in the third spot.

Filling out the 10 lowest-rated metropolitan areas were Boston in the fourth spot, followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Chicago.

In contrast, passengers in San Antonio held the highest rider rating averages, according to the survey, followed by St. Louis, Nashville, Salt Lake City and Kansas City.

Uber released the data on rider rankings as part of the launch of a new feature called “privacy center,” an effort to make it easier for riders to see how their rating is calculated. The feature lets Uber passengers view how drivers have rated them and gives them tips on how to improve their average rating.

"We hope that by giving users a peek into how their rating is calculated, we can help encourage positive experiences between riders and drivers on every trip," Zach Singleton, head of privacy and equity products at Uber, said in a statement.

On its blog, Uber has provided riders with step-by-step instructions on how to find their ratings breakdown.

Uber passed along tips offered by its drivers for how riders can improve their ratings:

1. Always make sure to take your trash and any other belongings with you. Don’t leave a mess behind.
2. Buckle your seatbelt. Studies show that unbuckled passengers in the back seat can put the driver at greater risk of injury in a crash.
3. Don't make the driver wait. Remember that a driver's time is valuable and they shouldn’t have to wait for you.
4. Treat everyone and everything with respect. Always treat your driver and their vehicle as you would want to be treated.
5. Don’t slam the door. It is easy to accidentally slam a door if you aren’t thinking about it, and drivers have consistently cited door slams as a reason why they deduct stars.