Uber’s Latest Feature Could Definitely Put More Money in Drivers’ Pockets
If you’ve been considering taking on a lucrative side job, Uber recently added a feature that could tip the scales in your bank account’s favor.
Last month, Uber announced its big plans to change.
One of the major changes is an in-app tipping feature, which allows passengers to easily tip their drivers through the Uber or UberEATS app — $1, $3 or “custom.”
Yup. Uber Tipping Just Got a Whole Lot Less Awkward
Yesterday, Uber announced it’s unfurled the new tipping feature in more than 120 markets in the U.S. and Canada.
By the end of the month, it says the feature will be available to all drivers in the U.S. and Canada.
Jim Conigliaro Jr., founder of the Independent Drivers Guild, described the tipping feature as “an important win for drivers” in an email statement to Bloomberg. “Cuts to driver pay across the ride-hail industry have made tipping income more important than ever.”
In the past, passengers could always throw a little cash toward Uber drivers if they wanted, but it wasn’t encouraged.
Naif Bartlett drives with Uber in Columbia, Missouri. He says before the tipping feature was released, “[Uber] actually used to tell drivers that if a customer offered a tip, you can accept it but inform them that tips are neither required nor expected.”
In regards to the built-in tipping feature, Bartlett isn’t as thrilled as we expected.
“I think the reason Uber is doing this is so drivers have the opportunity to make more money,” he says.
Bartlett says he’d prefer to see the bump in his base pay, but this is at least a way for passengers to chip in and help drivers ideally stash some extra money in their bank accounts. For that, tip of the hat to Uber.
If you’re interested in signing up as a driver — one who can now (or very soon) receive tips — you can get all the information here.
Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She once sang “Little Boxes” with her Uber driver in San Francisco. She so desperately wanted to tip the grandfatherly man but felt awkward throwing him cash. Now she can do it through the app.
