Uber passenger rating

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Uber did restore the competition that is supposed to be the lymphatic system of capitalism, but it can turn a desperate, jobless person with a working car into one with just a phone. Shared cabs have been illegal in developed countries for decades, and various other regulations stifled innovation. Suburban busses ran almost empty, and very infrequently, when a taxi could have done the job far cheaper, with backup cars for any overloads within the usual schedule variation of a bus.
While I'm here, though, I also need to point out that all these vehicles are about ten times heavier than they need to be to get their job done safely. We have been sold style, tradition, and simplistic ideas of safety, because those generate more profits and sell more fuel.

I didn't say anything about Uber users themselves. My comment was about the ethical practices of the company itself - zero hours contracts, tax evasion, its monopolisation of its industry, strike-breaking, etc. They're also a heck of a lot uglier than real taxis.

I have nothing against those who use the company though.

Thanks, Prometheus. I didn't think you or dear_one were criticising riders themselves, but I wanted to explain my situation nonetheless. Uber faced a lot of attacks in the media when I was first using their services and as a result, I've often felt the need to defend the company. I have nothing but praise for Uber and the excellent service I've always received. Likewise, I don't want people to make false assumptions that I used Uber "for four years" because I'm some kind of snob who demands private transportation. That couldn't be farther from the truth.

I'm such a snob, however. I'd love my own chauffeur

We can share an Uber with the "pool" feature, and discuss boisterous people between ourselves.

Only if the boisterous person in question happens to be me at least 37.5% of the time

Hmmmmm... Who else could we discuss?

Your story is very interesting. Sometimes, a person may be pretending not to understand you in order to get a rise out of you. My buddy, who's from Belarus and came to the US at a young age, told me this story. He went to day camp the first summer after he came to the US. His English got decent by then, but his accent was thick. Some kids started bullying him, by pretending not to understand what he said, even simple statements like "It's a nice day today." At first, he believed them, and accommodated them by repeating or rephrasing. Until one time, when some kid said to him: "What the hell are you saying? Speak English! [which he was]" So he punched the kid in the face! He got caught, and was suspended from day camp for one week. But when he returned, the same kids suddenly, magically understood him perfectly, with no accent reduction on his part. And on occasions they did not, they were super-apologetic about it.

I admire what my friend did, on a certain level, at least. Not that I advocate punching, unless you really have to. And punches should NEVER be thrown between Uber drivers and passengers. But it goes to show how ignorant American kids can be: enough to pretend not to understand an accent.

That reminds me of someone in subway who told to a group of students that students have a discount. Then I asked him "if I am in graduate school do I get a discount as well" but he kept misunderstanding me as if I said "I graduated". I kept repeating myself like 20 different times, getting louder and louder and inserting more and more F words but he kept misunderstanding that I was saying I graduated.

Then eventually I paid the normal amount, without discount. Then for some reason he was going to give me some money back. I don't remember why -- it was two years ago -- but no it didn't have anything to do with his understanding about graduate school because he still didn't understand it (I am guessing either he got a wrong order or I forgot to get a change back or one of the students paid for me the discount amount -- I don't remember which one it was). But anyway I refused to accept that money in order to make a point "it's not about money it's about the fact that I want you to understand what graduate school is -- money or not". So he tried like three or four times to give me money and I threw them back at him every time so he gave up and that money stayed with him.

Then, after I ate, I came back to him and again said "do you know what graduate school is" and then he just didn't respond anything at all just stayed silent. I insisted on repeating that question about "graduate school" and he continued to stay silent. After I kept repeating, he got out the phone and was dialing something -- I don't know what that number was but, based on everything else that happened, I suspect it was a police. So then I apologized for being rude. Then in response to my apology he said "I never even went to college, thanks for rubbing it in" Then I left.

Then I came the next day and nobody was there although the door was open. After I walked in the older woman came. Then I told her what happened yesterday and askwd her what she thought. So she said " if you are no longer a student then you don't get a discount". Then I said "but I am a student -- I am a graduate student". Then she said "then you do". Then I said "don't you f-cken think he was f-cken retaed that he didn't f-cken know what graduate student is" and then she said "please leave and don't come back any more" so I left and never came back

Few days later in the university library I saw someone very similar to that guy. IF it was that guy then he obviously lied about the fact that he never went to college. But who knows whether it was him or not, I am bad with faces. It's just that thing he did with his hair looked really similar.

I think it possible this "Passenger Rating" business comes from Uber and similar business dressing themsrlves as part of some "Sharing Economy" rather than being businesses employing people, either as employees "On the cards" or claiming their employees are "Independent Contractors" so they don't have to pay tax.

Uber has already had its knuckles rapped in the UK by the tax authorities, ruling thay it haf a degree of control over drivers sufficient that they were de facto employees.

Uber also had its private hire operator licence pulled by Transport for London over passenger safeguarding issues.

Some commentators view Uber as a poor enterprise which operates by attempting to sneak in under the regulatory bar.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JGwZcR0q6VE

Never used them

What's the connection between the existence of rating feature and the way they are taxed?

"Rating System" can make it appear as some sort of ride / lift sharing system, pairing people wanting a lift with poeple wanting to offer a lift, whereas the operation is essentially a private hire operations, with the server side of the app replacing the office and dispatcher and exercising a similar degree of control of drivers work as a private hire (mini cab) operation would.

The claim was made that the drivers were Independent contractors, and paying any due tax was their responsibility; the revenue and Customs brought cases agains a number of such operations, (Pimlico Plumbers was another one) and obtained the ruling that the control the operations had over the drivers' or plumbers' working lives was equivalent to what an employer would, and thus the status of the drivers (and plumbers) was Employee status and the companies were liable to pay proper PAYE tax and national insurance