Most passengers are great. Some are terrible. Here’s what they do that makes them so bad

1) Make your driver wait around for you.

For Uber drivers, time is money. Riders should always be ready to be picked up - at the designated pickup location - by the time the driver arrives. You really have no excuse either, considering you can see exactly how far away they are and literally watch them pull up on a map.

Be warned: Drivers can absolutely contact Uber support after the ride and have your rates readjusted if you made them wait around forever. This isn’t entirely common but it’s absolutely a possibility.

2) Spill drinks, eat, or ….vomit…. in their car.

Every driver is atleast a little OCD about the cleanliness of their car; for a good reason. The last thing they want to do, is to get their car detailed or ….decontaminated…. because some rider simply couldn’t wait to eat their cheeseburger or felt like juggling a 44oz Big Gulp in the back seat.

You can be charged anywhere from $50-$200 if you make a mess while on a ride. The driver knows to take pictures & send them to Uber - then they will manually charge you a nominal cleanup fee which goes entirely to the driver.

3) Request a pickup on a busy street corner.

Despite the popularity of the game Where’s Waldo - Your driver is one of the few people who despise it. Instead of requesting your ride at…say… an intersection with tens if not hundreds of people around you, Walk a couple hundred feet away from the crowds and then request your ride.

It’s nearly impossible for your driver to tell who exactly it is he needs to pick up, and this may be news to some…but the last thing he wants is to talk on the phone while driving; trying to find out exactly where you are.

4) Complain about the pricing.

Every Uber driver has heard something along the lines of: But my fare estimate was only $xx?!? - More times than they can count. For starters: They don’t get to determine the rates - It’s completely done in-app by Uber’s pricing algorithms for your city.

Things like traffic, wait time (stop lights etc.), route taken, and any checkpoints you may have along the way (i.e. fast food) will all effect the actual price of your ride in regards to fare estimate can provide.

In regards to surge pricing - Surges can literally change in seconds. Whether they go up, down, or completely disappear; it’s extremely dynamic and short-lived. But the Uber app will make you aware of this surge (and you even have to confirm you’re okay with it) before taking the ride - so you have no excuse.

Pro-tip #1: Not in a hurry? Simply try requesting a ride again every couple minutes. It’s not uncommon for surges to drastically lower or completely disappear within 5-10 minutes.

Pro-tip #2: Do the math! Trying to take an UberX but it has a crazy high surge? Even though other car services like Uber SELECT or perhaps Uber BLACK are considered “luxury” - They both still hold up-to 4 passengers, just like UberX, and if one of them isn’t currently surging; it may be cheaper to take it instead. Plus you get to roll up in style!

5) Try to cram in more passengers than allowed.

If you’ve requested a car service that limits you to 4 or 6 passengers - Do not try to fit more than 4 or 6 passengers (we’ll give you a second to comprehend this all…). But seriously, some riders think if they can fit somewhere - they can hitch a ride. That’s not the case - for your own safety and for legal reasons.

If you try to do this; You’ll likely receive a bad passenger rating from your driver, and perhaps even have your total fare cost adjusted/increased if they decide to tell Uber about it afterwards. Either request a larger vehicle like an Uber SUV or Uber XL and use the in-app “Split Fare” feature to minimize costs, or have two people request a ride.

6) Say “this is the best ride i’ve taken!”….and not tip.

Tips aren’t required. It’s one of the things that makes Uber, well, Uber. That being said - Anyone with half a brain can realize that these drivers sure aren’t getting rich; You know exactly what they are doing for you, You know how much they’re getting for their time & services (…and we won’t get in to how much of the fare they actually get to take home…) - And needless to say, they aren’t doing this “for fun”.

But if a driver goes completely out of his way to provide you with an awesome travel experience - A fair person might agree they deserve some praise, right? Well - they really do appreciate your kind words and gratitude. Unfortunately kind words and expressed gratitude don’t quite keep a roof over their head. When you tell your driver how great the ride was, but neglect to throw them a couple bucks, it definitely triggers one of their pet peeves and sure makes them feel unappreciated.

7) You don’t know where you’re trying to go.

While not required, Uber drivers highly…highly prefer you to put your destination’s address into the app so they know exactly where they’re going - and how to get there. Most drivers, like anyone, prefer not to have “backseat drivers” - Especially when you’re coming back from the bars and are perhaps a bit more intoxiated than you claim to be.

If you really need more convincing on the subject - Do it for yourself. Sure you might honest-to-god know “the quickest way” to get back home; But what you might not know is that there’s a ton of traffic or an accident along that route. The driver navigation through Uber’s app, powered by Google, is very smart. Google is getting better and better at determining real-time traffic flow along routes & guiding you around congested areas. In other words: Your ride will likely be cheaper.