I drive for Uber and Lyft - here's what your driver thinks about you based on your rating

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I drive for Uber and Lyft - here's what your driver thinks about you based on your rating

Clarke Bowman Uber

Clarke Bowman

The author, Clarke Bowman, drives for Uber and Lyft in South Florida.

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  • All Uber and Lyft passengers are rated between one and five stars after their ride is complete.
  • I've been driving for Uber and Lyft for almost a year, and I can often judge what kind of rider you are based on your passenger rating.
  • I've learned that a perfect 5.00 rating may not be what it seems, a rating in the high 4.9s is the sweet spot, and if you're below 4.60, you can forget about me ever picking you up.
  • Here's what Uber and Lyft drivers really think about you based on your rating.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

I have been a part-time driver for Uber and Lyft for the better part of a year now, and in that time, I have learned a lot.

One of those things is learning what someone's passenger rating really means.

Drivers for the ride-hailing apps use the rating system to signal to other drivers who's a good passenger and who may be a bad one. We can only rate passengers after a trip is completed - Uber drivers have to enter a rating before accepting the next ride, while Lyft automatically gives passengers a perfect rating unless the driver manually changes it.

You can check your Uber passenger rating in the top left corner of the Uber app's home screen, while Lyft passengers are unable to view their rating.

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Although a rating can technically range between one and five stars, almost all passenger ratings are in the range of 4.50 to 5.00. I have never seen a rating below 4.50, and I have never heard of anyone, driver or passenger, having a rating of below 4.00.

Nobody knows the exact formula to figure out a passenger rating, but it seems to be heavily weighted toward 5.00. For example, if a driver rates you five stars, and the next driver rates you one star, your rating won't suddenly be a three. Drivers have their own theories about the formula - I recently heard one driver claim that every passenger starts out with 100 five-star ratings, and future ratings are factored in after that. But nobody knows for sure.

Regardless of how ratings are calculated, one thing that is for sure is that drivers often judge passengers by their ratings, as it's one of the only pieces of information they get before they choose to accept or decline your ride request. Sometimes I misjudge people based on their rating, but more often than not, my intuition is right.

Personally, I give most of my passengers a five-star rating, unless they commit major violations of passenger etiquette. It's worth noting that, according to both Uber and Lyft, if a driver gives a passenger a three-star rating or lower, they will supposedly never be matched with that passenger in the future. And a low passenger rating means future drivers might be less likely to accept your ride request, which might result in a longer wait time for you to be picked up.

Now, my experience driving and rating passengers is limited to my South Florida area, but after talking with many drivers from all over the world, it seems like these opinions on passenger ratings are generally universal across all regions.

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With that said, here is what your Uber or Lyft driver thinks about you based on your rating.

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If you have a perfect 5.00 rating, you are either the perfect passenger, or you're brand new.

If you have a perfect 5.00 rating, you are either the perfect passenger, or you're brand new.

Five point oh-oh — the elusive perfect rating. Five stars means perfection, no faults, and excellence … or does it?

I remember when I first started driving for Lyft, an in-app notification told me to not be worried, as my first few ratings would not count against me. I'm sure lots of new drivers are nervous and might be poorly rated on those first few rides. I've always thought that maybe something like this also happens for new passengers.

I have accepted dozens of five-star passengers on Lyft, and then as I arrive, I receive a notification that says, "Make sure to welcome (person) as this is their first ride!"

I have also accepted many 5.00 passengers on Uber who get in the car and tell me, "This is my first time using Uber!" So I'm pretty sure that new users start out with a perfect five-star rating.

I also had one guy tell me one day that he had been using Uber for years, and that he had a perfect 5.00 rating and "wanted to keep it that way'' as he handed me a $5 bill.

I've also given dozens of rides to five-star passengers that were just great, normal passengers. Some riders chatted happily and we had a great conversation, while others simply nodded and popped headphones in and were silent. I don't judge people on whether or not they want to talk, and both of these types of people are great in my eyes.

If I see a 5.00 rating, chances are that you are a good passenger. I am going to accept your ride, even though there's a chance you're just a first-time rider.

If your rating is between 4.94 and 4.99, you are a great passenger with lots of experience.

If your rating is between 4.94 and 4.99, you are a great passenger with lots of experience.

For the longest time, my driver rating was a perfect 5.00 rating on both Uber and Lyft.

I was so proud of myself. As a passenger, I never had a 5.00-rated Uber or Lyft driver, so I knew having a perfect rating was rare. I held on to that 5.00 like a shiny badge and told everyone that cared to know. It was a pinnacle to my achievement of being a great driver and maintaining a clean car.

Then one day I checked my Uber driver profile, and my jaw dropped.

"4.99."

I clicked on the ratings breakdown, and there it was. My first four-star rating (who rates someone four stars?!), a blemish on my perfect record. It was like staring at my first pimple in the middle of my forehead. I was honestly upset. I had no idea who rated me four stars, and the person who left that rating didn't leave any feedback, so I'm not even sure what it was that I did wrong.

Since then, I've gotten a couple more four-star ratings, never finding out why, but I'm still rated a 4.99 on Uber, and also a 4.99 on Lyft. But in a way, to me, 4.99 is almost more impressive than 5.00, because now people know that you have experience to your name. People regularly comment on it and say, "Your rating is pretty high at 4.99, you must be pretty good."

I can say the same about passengers when their rating is between 4.94 and 4.99. It means they are fantastic, and they have lots of experience as riders.

Sure, they somehow got a four-star rating or two along the way, but they know the drill: They're probably waiting at the curb, they're probably pleasant, and they might even leave a good tip.

I have never had a passenger in this range that was remotely bad, and all were wonderful people. The second I see a rating in this range on a ride request, I'm immediately tapping accept.

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If your rating is between 4.80 and 4.93, you are still a good passenger, but you've gotten quite a few less-than-perfect ratings. Why?

If your rating is between 4.80 and 4.93, you are still a good passenger, but you've gotten quite a few less-than-perfect ratings. Why?

I hand out five stars like candy to almost every passenger that comes for a ride in my Prius. You have to really do something wrong to earn less than five stars from me. I don't really believe in handing out ratings of two, three, or four stars.

But I am not every driver out there, and some drivers are apparently very stingy with their five stars. A driver might give out less than five stars for any number of reasons: They think you you slammed the door, they thought you were rude, you talked too loud on the phone, you annoyed them, you took too long to arrive, you had a loud drunk friend with you.

I have no idea why some drivers rate the way they rate, but some are like this. In my opinion, it's not fair, and it's not respectful, especially when there are cultural differences among many different people of different ages and backgrounds.

If a person was decently polite, didn't leave a mess, or didn't really do anything wrong, then they should get five stars.

Whatever the reason is for your slightly lower rating, it's still OK. You're probably still a good passenger, and you should have no problem getting drivers to accept your ride. I have given many passengers rides that have ratings in this range, and all were perfectly fine passengers.

Seriously, don't sweat it.

If you're between a 4.70 and 4.79, you're a solid passenger, but you may have a slightly questionable history.

If you're between a 4.70 and 4.79, you're a solid passenger, but you may have a slightly questionable history.

All right, who made your past drivers upset?

Was it your drunk friend Alice? Was she yelling super loud again? Yeah, it was definitely Alice.

The mid-4.70s range is where things start to get a little "hmm." Chances are that you're probably a decent passenger, but you have done something in the past to earn a few poor ratings. It's very likely you even received a three-star rating, since drivers know they won't be matched in the future with a passenger they rate three or fewer stars.

But even though you have gotten some lousy ratings, you still have gotten quite a few five-star ratings, so you're still likely a good passenger.

I'll let everyone in on a little secret: I love most riders in this rating range. Although these people have a lower-than-average rating, they're perfectly normal people. I have no idea why they have a lower rating, but whenever they're in my car, they're pretty good. Most tend to not talk too much, so it's a nice break to take a ride in silence and listen to the music. The ones that do talk tend to talk a lot, but they often tell the best and craziest stories.

If you're in this rating range, I wouldn't worry too much, but I would be trying to take steps to improve your rating — make sure you are always ready when the driver arrives, don't eat in the car or make a mess, and consider tipping a few dollars in cash at the end of a ride. Some drivers won't accept riders rated lower than 4.80, and this may mean it takes a while longer to find you a ride if it's busy.

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If you're between a 4.60 and 4.69, I hate to say it, but you may be a bad passenger.

If you're between a 4.60 and 4.69, I hate to say it, but you may be a bad passenger.

We are now reaching the bottom of the barrel in terms of ratings, as almost all ratings seem to be in the range of 4.50 and 5.00.

If you're in the 4.6 range, you might not know it, but you may be a bad passenger.

Do you slam doors? Do you ask your driver questions that are entirely too personal? Do you holler and scream? Are you dirty? Do you get in the car after the driver has been waiting for almost five minutes? Do you make a mess in the car?

If you answered yes to any of these questions: Yes, you might be a bad passenger. And if you don't know the answer to any of these questions: Yes, you might be a bad passenger.

That cheap bluetooth speaker for $12 on Amazon didn't earn a one-star review because it worked amazingly well. It earned a one-star review because it quit working, wouldn't connect, and had poor sound quality.

You didn't earn a rating somewhere in the 4.6 range because you're a good passenger. You earned a poor rating because you have made quite a few drivers upset to the point where they purposely left you a bad review.

You for sure have earned a few three-star reviews so drivers would never get matched with you again, and you might even have a couple of one-stars mixed in there.

I don't know what you did, but a lot of other drivers were clearly not OK with you, so why should I be?

I honestly don't receive too many requests in this range, and when I do, I tend to reject them, as it's just not worth my headache.

Of course, I don't always take my own advice.

I remember a few months ago, it was very slow in the afternoon, and — I don't know why — I accepted a 4.6-ish rider ride on Lyft. A woman got in the car and I immediately wanted her out. She hopped in the front passenger seat in my Prius, pushed her seat all the way back, and then started complaining about how small my car was. She smelled awful, like an old battery, which I didn't even know was possible. I wanted to cancel the ride and tell her to get out, but she was acting crazy and I was honestly a little scared for my safety, or at least scared of her freaking out. Her destination was only 10 minutes away, so I decided to just deal with it.

So off we went down the road, and then mid-ride, without the woman telling me, my Lyft app notifies me we've changed destinations, and there are now two stops.

"Did you mean to change this?" I ask. She said yes. All right.

We arrive at a house and another equally awful smelling woman gets in the car. Two of them! Thankfully the next stop was only a short ways away. The two started arguing loudly in a language I didn't recognize. The arguing escalated into yelling, almost like it was a competition as to who could get louder. I had no idea what was going on. It was like I didn't even exist as these two were now practically shouting at the top of their lungs.

A very long five minutes later, I dropped them off. The lady in the passenger seat turns to me and says, "Slow." She slammed the door and left. I gave her a one-star rating and left a comment on the app that said "Probably the rudest passenger I have ever had."

And if your rating is somehow between 4.50 and 4.59, you are a bad passenger, and I will never, ever accept your ride request.

And if your rating is somehow between 4.50 and 4.59, you are a bad passenger, and I will never, ever accept your ride request.

A passenger in this low rating range is likely everything a 4.6-er is, but worse.

I will absolutely not accept a ride from a passenger in this range. Ever.

The rating scale is like the Richter scale for earthquakes, but in reverse: The lower the number, the passenger gets exponentially worse. Ruder, louder, dirtier, crazier.

When I first started, I accepted rides from almost anyone. It only took a few low-rated passengers to change my mind.

Passengers love to ask me, "Have you ever had anyone throw up in your car?" When I reply, "No," some actually seem kind of upset that I don't have a crazy vomit story to tell.

The thought of vomit makes me squirm. It's disgusting. Knock on wood, but I haven't had any bad experiences with vomit in my car yet.

Part of the reason I believe that I've had no one vomit in my vehicle is because I no longer accept low-rated passengers, especially late at night. I have rejected quite a few 4.5 and 4.6-rated passengers from 11 p.m. on, and I know other drivers do the same. The reason is simple: Bad ratings only come from lots of one-star reports, and one-star reports most likely came from drivers who had to deal with a vomiting passenger.

The quickest way to make a driver leave a one-star review is to vomit in their vehicle. Not only is it plain disgusting, but they're likely done driving for the night because their interior covered in vomit, right at the busiest time of night when the drivers are likely to make the most money.

There is no place to properly clean a vehicle late at night, so the driver likely has to clean it themselves or wait until the next morning. Hopefully the pictures they take for Uber or Lyft support aren't blurry, because they now have to begin the process of opening a support ticket with the companies to receive a cleaning fee. Sometimes the drivers are never reimbursed, because Uber and Lyft want a professional receipt, and if the driver cleaned their car themselves, they obviously won't have one.

If your rating is in this range, do not be surprised if you have to wait for a very long time for a ride, as drivers are probably constantly rejecting your requests. In fact, if your rating remains this low for too long, you might even be kicked off the platform.

One slow afternoon, I received a request for a 4.55-rated passenger, which is very low. I had to see how someone could have such a bad rating. I just had to. I accepted the ride. I wrote about this guy before, but here is what happened.

I pulled up to a restaurant in the middle of the afternoon. Almost immediately, I regretted accepting this ride. This behemoth of a man walking like a giant in a kid's movie stumbled his way over to my car. Clearly drunk, he opened the door and said, "You the Uber?" I almost wanted to tell him no and cancel the ride, but I froze.

He got in, and I wanted out. He smelled like old cheese and old cabbage, and I hate cabbage.

We're driving away and he whipped out a vape pen and asked me if he could smoke it. I told him no.

Staring out the window, he asked me if I voted for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. I told him I don't discuss politics.

He then aggressively tapped on my shoulder and asked, "You seem cool, are you a pepperoni pizza or a pineapple pizza kind of guy?" I said pepperoni, and to please not touch me. He replied, "Oh, cool," and then started humming along loudly, and horribly off-beat, to a tune that sounded nothing like the song that was playing out of the stereo, while simultaneously tapping on the window and rubbing his belly.

His shirt had food stains all over it, and every time he took a breath it sounded like he had sleep apnea. He would also randomly interrupt his humming to let out a loud burp.

What felt like an eternity later, after a 10-minute ride, we arrived at his house. He got out and slammed my door. I turned around and he had left such large sweat stains on my seat that it looked like someone was still sitting there.

Well, that's what you get for accepting a 4.55 ride, I told myself.

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And forget about passengers rated below 4.50 — they probably don't exist.

And forget about passengers rated below 4.50 — they probably don't exist.

To date, I have never seen a rating lower than 4.50. When I do finally receive one of these requests, I am not going to find out how they are rated so poorly.

Be courteous, be respectful, and be kind to keep your rating high. And remember that your drivers are people too.

Be courteous, be respectful, and be kind to keep your rating high. And remember that your drivers are people too.

At the end of the day, a rating is really subjective.

People like and dislike all types of things. One driver may love your bubbly and talkative personality, and another driver having a bad day and a headache may not. One driver may love your perfume, while the strong scent makes another driver nauseous.

Your rating will change, and it will fluctuate. Your rating may drop even though you are a good person. I have only taken a few rides as a passenger myself, and each time I was quiet, respectful, and left a tip. Regardless, my rating somehow isn't perfect, but rather a 4.94, meaning at least one driver left me four stars or fewer.

Chances are that you will have a bad driver at some point that is very stingy with their stars.

If you receive mostly good ratings with only a few bad ratings, then the sporadic low ratings are probably a problem with those specific drivers.

If you receive mostly bad ratings from almost all of your drivers, then, to be honest, the problem probably lies with yourself.

To keep the best possible passengers in their vehicle, drivers tend to reject lower-rated passengers, especially late at night and when it's busy, leaving those lower-rated passengers often waiting a long time for a ride.

Remember that the person behind the wheel is a human too, with their own thoughts, feelings, and loved ones at home. We deserve to be treated with respect as well.

Yes, we get paid to do this job, but give your driver a sincere "thank you" the next time you're in a ride, since at least one of us are available almost 24/7 to help deliver you safely to your destination.

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