Uber Now Demands Tips Upfront To Avoid Long Waits At Istanbul Airport—Is Your Airport Next?

When Uber started, the cost of the ride included the tip. The idea was to create a seamless experience. There’s no payment at the end of the ride. You request the ride, you get out of the car, you’re billed for it automatically.

Drivers wanted tipping because they thought they’d earn more from riders choosing voluntarily to give them money. But that’s not how tipping works, exactly. Uber pays drivers less because riders might pay them more.

Uber sets driver pay based on their ability to attract drivers. If they have enough drivers, that means they’re paying enough. The more customers tip (or drivers think they’ll tip), the less Uber has to pay to have a sufficient supply of drivers. And driver pay has fallen significantly since tipping was introduced.

The fall in driver pay isn’t all because of tipping. In fact, relatively few riders tip. People tip on food orders far more than rides.

It’s no wonder drivers play games with the rides. When Uber began, the algorithm was supposed to be a solution to redlining. The driver didn’t know where they were headed until the rider was in the car. No more taxis demanding to know your destination and then refusing to pick you up. That anti-discrimination measure is gone, too.

Now in Istanbul it appears that if you want an Uber airport pickup, you’re going to have to pay for that.

Add a tip for faster pickup A driver may be more likely to accept this ride if you add a tip. Your driver receives 100% of the tip. If you add a tip now, you can’t change it later.

I’m not certain that bidding for a driver is a tip, exactly, since tips does not actually stand for ‘to insure prompt service’. But it’s just another way that Uber has lost the plot since picking Expedia’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to run the business.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. There are 3 categories of Uber rides.
    1. Excellent. 5 star plus about 10% tip.
    2. Average. 5 star plus no tip.
    3. Below Average. 4 star.

    I learned from an American Uber driver that any rating below 5 star is considered poor. In Canada, I would rate something excellent as 4/5, but because Uber is an American company, I use the American scale.

  2. Tips are insane. Ice cream shops ask for them then give you attitude when you do no tip.

    I pick up a pizza and they want we to tip them for me picking it up

    3% for the kitchen staff.

    When given only the option to tip 25%. I force no tip.

    Do not bite the hand that pays you

  3. I have abandoned Uber for rides since over a year; now I use Amex Uber credit for food pickup.

  4. Make arrangements prior to arrival with your destination. I usually find my own drivers from personal contacts. I prefer getting kissed before I’m being screwed

  5. Peoples should not be forced to tip for share rides at all because I honestly think the tip thing has been majorly abused

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