![\"Man](\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Etiquette-of-Ride-Sharing-Header-1.jpg\")
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Ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft have nearly made taxis obsolete. While these services are similar to taxis, they of course aren\u2019t exactly alike, so the rules of etiquette are a little different as well. Having good manners is even more pertinent in the world of ride sharing, since (and not all riders know this), not only do you rate the drivers, but <\/span>the drivers rate you too<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n Especially if you\u2019re a first-time or new user, it can be a little tricky to figure out the proper ride sharing protocol. Below we offer etiquette tips to make the most of your (and your driver\u2019s) experience. <\/span><\/p>\n The biggest question in regards to ride-sharing etiquette is tipping. How much do you give your driver? Both Uber and Lyft offer in-app tipping, but it can be easy to forget to utilize it; because payment is taken care of digitally and automatically, the ride leaves your mind the second you leave the car. Either make a point to rate (more on that below) and tip your driver ASAP, or keep cash on hand and just do it that way. It should be noted that even when you tip in-app, all that money goes to the driver. Neither Uber or Lyft take any portion of tips from their drivers. <\/span><\/p>\n Tip as you would a standard taxi ride, which is 15-20%, with the average being more on the upper end of that. What makes this hard is that the in-app tipping is offered as a dollar amount with some pre-set options. Learn how to figure out what 15-20% is \u2014 a skill that will be useful for tipping in other scenarios too, of course \u2014 and choose the preset amount that matches your calculation or enter in your own amount when prompted about giving a tip. <\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s that simple. Tip just as you would most other services. <\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t make your driver wait. At the airport, don\u2019t make your request for a car while you\u2019re still on the plane. If you\u2019re at a restaurant, don\u2019t request a car before your bill is paid. You\u2019re wasting the time of the driver by making them wait, you\u2019re costing yourself money (you get charged a small fee by the minute if you make a driver wait more than two minutes), and it\u2019s just plain discourteous to boot. <\/span><\/p>\n The only time to request a car before you\u2019re actually ready is if you can see that it\u2019s 5-10 minutes out. In those instances you can request your pick-up early, but only by a few minutes, and only if you\u2019re absolutely sure you\u2019ll be ready once the car does arrive. <\/span><\/p>\n One of the perpetual questions of ride-sharing. It\u2019s not a taxi; it\u2019s someone\u2019s personal vehicle. So are the rules different? Not unless you want them to be. The majority of people just hop in the back, and that\u2019s what your driver will expect as well, especially if you\u2019re riding solo. If for some reason you want to ride in the front you sure can, but it\u2019s a good idea to ask, just for the sake of politeness. <\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re riding with other people, especially if your party is 3 or more, then it\u2019s definitely alright for someone to take the front seat (and it\u2019s quite possibly preferable for the sake of comfort). <\/span><\/p>\n If you do sit in the front, don\u2019t fiddle with anything \u2014 stereo, heating\/cooling, etc. You\u2019d think this would be obvious, but it\u2019s one of the top complaints of Uber drivers. <\/span><\/p>\n With less of a barrier between you and the driver as there is in taxis, you might be tempted to give your opinions on their route. Don\u2019t do that — even if some drivers wouldn\u2019t mind. Unless they seem to be taking a route that\u2019s way off base (not something I or anyone I know has experienced), just sit back and enjoy the ride. The only time you should be a backseat driver is if you might be feeling motion sick or perhaps just uncomfortable about how fast the driver is going. Nothing wrong with asking to slow things down and telling the driver that you\u2019re not in a rush. <\/span><\/p>\n Remember that for the most part these are people\u2019s personal vehicles. Do you want someone noshing on greasy fast food in <\/span>your<\/span><\/i> backseat or trying to wolf down some Chinese takeout? Generally not. If you have food, wait until you get to your destination. Beyond being messy, food just stinks up the car, and that can create a less-than-stellar experience for the next rider, who might give a lower rating because of it. All thanks to you. Don\u2019t do that if it can be helped at all.<\/span><\/p>\n Beverages are obviously more appropriate, especially if they have caps, but still be extra careful, just as you would in anybody else\u2019s car. Just because you\u2019re paying for the ride doesn\u2019t mean you can be a slob. <\/span><\/p>\n A silent ride can feel awkward, and you may feel like you need to chat with the driver to ensure they rate you highly. But while many (though not all) drivers do like to talk, you\u2019re not under any obligation to do so. Drivers usually let riders take the lead in showing they want to chat, so if you\u2019d like to ride in silence, just twiddle on your phone or pop in your earbuds, and don\u2019t feel weird about the quietude.<\/span><\/p>\n Even though you\u2019re not obligated to make small talk with your driver, you should still exchange some basic pleasantries when you get in and out of the car: \u201cHi, how\u2019s it going? I\u2019m headed to X destination. Thanks very much for the ride. Etc.\u201d Treat the driver like a human, not an automaton. <\/span><\/p>\n If the temperature isn\u2019t right, or music is too loud (or you don\u2019t want music at all), speak up. The drivers generally want to please the customer, and are happy to oblige. They obviously don\u2019t know your preferences though, so you have to mention it if something is making you uncomfortable or bothering you. And if and when they do comply with your ask, you should definitely give that 5-star rating. <\/span><\/p>\n Most drivers start you out at a 5-star rating, and then only take off stars if you do something really egregiously rude. While not following the guidelines below won\u2019t necessarily lose you a star, it\u2019s better to avoid the chance that it could, and they\u2019re simple points of courtesy anyway:<\/span><\/p>\n Most drivers give riders 5-star reviews, and you should return the favor. It really helps drivers if they get rated well. If you have a good experience, and have no complaints, don\u2019t be stingy with a five-star review. Uber expects drivers to maintain very high ratings, and they can easily lose their gig if their score drops too low (rumors are that at Uber the number is 4.7). Now, if your experience was awful, then don\u2019t be afraid to rate it as such, but in general, if the driver got you from point A to point B safely, that\u2019s a 5-star ride. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft have nearly made taxis obsolete. While these services are similar to taxis, they of course aren\u2019t exactly alike, so the rules of etiquette are a little different as well. Having good manners is even more pertinent in the world of ride sharing, since (and not all riders know […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":95914,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[318,6,42285],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-95867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-etiquette","category-featured","category-relationships"],"featured_image_urls":{"medium_large":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Etiquette-of-Ride-Sharing-Header-1-768x429.jpg","large":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Etiquette-of-Ride-Sharing-Header-1-538x280.jpg","reactor-320":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Etiquette-of-Ride-Sharing-Header-1-320x179.jpg","reactor-640":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Etiquette-of-Ride-Sharing-Header-1-640x358.jpg","aesop-tiny-cover":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Etiquette-of-Ride-Sharing-Header-1-400x224.jpg","aesop-character":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Etiquette-of-Ride-Sharing-Header-1-200x200.jpg","aesop-collection":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Etiquette-of-Ride-Sharing-Header-1-300x300.jpg","aesop-grid-image":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Etiquette-of-Ride-Sharing-Header-1-400x224.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95867"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123505,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95867\/revisions\/123505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95867"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=95867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Tipping<\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t Request Early<\/h3>\n
Where to Sit?<\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t Be a Backseat Driver<\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t Eat or Drink in the Car, Within Reason<\/h3>\n
Make Small Talk, Only If You Want To<\/h3>\n
Speak Up If Something Isn\u2019t to Your Liking<\/h3>\n
Miscellaneous Points of Courtesy<\/h3>\n
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Freely Give 5-Star Ratings<\/h3>\n