Become a fan of Slashdot on Facebook

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
The Almighty Buck Transportation Businesses Communications Software Technology

New York Plans To Force Uber To Add Tipping Option (theverge.com) 140

Posted by BeauHD from the hat-tip dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission announced a proposal today that could force Uber to finally allow riders to tip drivers within its app. The full proposal will be introduced in a few months and would require "car services that only accept credit cards" to let passengers tip with their cards in the app, according to The New York Times. "We have not seen the proposal and look forward to reviewing it," an Uber spokesperson told The Verge. "Uber is always striving to offer the best earning opportunity for drivers and we are constantly working to improve the driver experience." Cash tips have long been a part of a New York City cab ride, and Uber hasn't explicitly stopped riders from tipping its drivers in cash. But the touchscreen interfaces of New York City taxis allow riders to tip a driver even when paying with a credit card. Uber's app, meanwhile, has never had a similar option for including credit card-based tips.
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

New York Plans To Force Uber To Add Tipping Option More

New York Plans To Force Uber To Add Tipping Option

Comments Filter:

  • Even the Drunk Ones? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I think not!

    • Re:Even the Drunk Ones? (Score:4, Informative)

      by ArmoredDragon ( 3450605 ) on Monday April 17, 2017 @09:10PM (#54253591)

      If anything, the law should not encourage tipping at all, rather than effectively making it obligatory. I.e. put servers, drivers, bartenders, etc under the same wages as everybody else (be that minimum wage or otherwise,) and make tipping a thing of the past. Also make it illegal for any business to automatically add a gratuity to your bill, i.e. the total price is baked into the menu/advertised price rather than effectively adding a 15% below the line fee.

      Oh and while I'm here, slashdot's web designers are somewhat retarded as of the last few months. Seriously, and ad that takes up 1/3rd of the page? Who thinks of this shit? And now to make things worse, the user pane scrolls with the page when reading the comments, so you have to scroll heavily just to read the comments. The first dumbfuck idea can be fixed with adblock, but the second dumbfuck idea requires outright disabling javascript just to make the page readable.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by btsfh ( 750772 )

        Oh and while I'm here, slashdot's web designers are somewhat retarded as of the last few months. Seriously, and ad that takes up 1/3rd of the page? Who thinks of this shit? And now to make things worse, the user pane scrolls with the page when reading the comments, so you have to scroll heavily just to read the comments. The first dumbfuck idea can be fixed with adblock, but the second dumbfuck idea requires outright disabling javascript just to make the page readable.

        Or you could take the 5 seconds required to hit options in the userbox and disable slashboxes. It's still a stupid design idea, but if you're on a site claiming to be news for nerds, spending 30 seconds looking for tweakable widgets seems like a reasonable expectation.

        • I already have that turned off, it doesn't do anything.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by btsfh ( 750772 )

            So apparently it works for the one article you are looking at, but save doesn't actually save anything. Always nice to see a site become even less relevant and useful D'oh!

      • If anything, the law should not encourage tipping at all, rather than effectively making it obligatory. I.e. put servers, drivers, bartenders, etc under the same wages as everybody else (be that minimum wage or otherwise,) and make tipping a thing of the past.

        You might want to consult with all the waiters and bartenders before you do this.

        Back in the day when I waited tables and slung drinks, I *really* liked the tipping system. I was able to shmooze a good living while in school.

        I would dare say good s

      • Try this....scroll down until the article summary is somewhat centered on the page.

        Hit Refresh

        IMPORTANT: wait for the full page to load, when the tab's indicator stops spinning or whatever

        Now scroll down and the top ad should not scroll with you.

        The side ad bullshit may take another refresh

        I generally browse the main page and open all the stories I want into separate Chrome tabs in the morning and I get this issue all the time now.

        ...and disabling slashboxes like suggested below doesn't do anyt

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Rakarra ( 112805 )

        Oh and while I'm here, slashdot's web designers are somewhat retarded as of the last few months. Seriously, and ad that takes up 1/3rd of the page? Who thinks of this shit? And now to make things worse, the user pane scrolls with the page when reading the comments, so you have to scroll heavily just to read the comments. The first dumbfuck idea can be fixed with adblock, but the second dumbfuck idea requires outright disabling javascript just to make the page readable.

        When I just open up a page and read it, the ad stays up and then goes away quickly.
        When I middle-click a link to open in a tab, and then I come back a little later to read the tab (I do this all the time -- go through the main slashdot page and open all the stories first, then go through each tab), then I've found that the javascript that controls the ad breaks and the ad stays up permanently; I have to reload that tab to get things working again.

  • NO! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    That will remove a greatly competitive feature of Uber. That's gonna jack up the prices by 15%.

    Let's not forget: driving for Uber is 100% volunteer.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by ruir ( 2709173 )
      That is the idea. Someone bought up legislation to make Uber less competitive... It does take it to be very imaginative to understand what is going on.
      • Probably someone thought up the idea to capture the income tax that is due from the tip that is otherwise hidden when it's paid in cash.

        So Uber is "more competitive" now because any tips their drivers receive are not taxed (unless the drivers are exceptionally honest about reporting). This will make Uber "less competitive" because it places them on the same footing as the other NYC taxi services that have a place for tips on the credit card payment screen.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by tsqr ( 808554 )

      Let's not forget: driving for Uber is 100% volunteer.

      While driving a cab is, as everyone knows, involuntary servitude.

    • That's gonna jack up the prices by 15%.

      If tipping is done like in the Lyft app, then you're tipping after you've already left the car so there is actually less pressure to tip.

      • If tipping is done like in the Lyft app, then you're tipping after you've already left the car so there is actually less pressure to tip.

        This is one of the things I tend to hate about cab tipping, as opposed to other services. (Tipping in general is of course annoying too; I wish people were actually just paid reasonably for their services.)

        Anyhow, in most services, you tip as you are leaving the transaction (or the service person is leaving). In a cab, particularly if you are paying by card, you're often forced to tip before you even get out of the car -- frequently handing back the credit card thing to the driver, where he prints out y

        • Which is a argument for getting rid of tipping altogether. Here in Australia we don't tip taxi drivers. That doesn't stop the driver helping with the bags etc. at the end of the trip.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jonwil ( 467024 )

      As long as Uber doesn't make it mandatory to tip (and isn't forced to by new regulations or laws) and as long as they dont make tipping difficult to avoid or otherwise do things to make tipping seem like its required or something then I dont see the problem with allowing people who want to leave a tip via the Uber app to have a way to do that.

      • It's a great way for Uber to hide the real price and convince consumers the prices are cheaper than what they'll actually pay.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by GNious ( 953874 )

      That will remove a greatly competitive feature of Uber. That's gonna jack up the prices by 15%.

      Let's not forget: driving for Uber is 100% volunteer.

      Odd, I'd think it would go the other way - Uber would assume drivers in NYC are being tipped, and therefore reduce their pay and consequently fare. ... OK, it's Uber, they'd prolly not reduce the fare, but the pay? hell yes.

  • They even do that online now.... (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I was buying something online and they started adding an automatic tip there, too. You know, just in case I wanted to blindly click 'next' and not think about tipping them. Also, if you get tips, they can legally pay you less than minimum wage, so long as tips make up the difference in pay. Not sure that applies here, but who knows.

  • that's a tip

  • As a non-US resident... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 17, 2017 @08:43PM (#54253433)

    As someone visiting the US, the main appeal of Uber for me was not having to deal with tipping.

    Tipping in restaurants was confusing enough, but trying to figure out what I was meant to tip a taxi driver, on top of whether the fair itself was legit, it was a nightmare.

    I know culturally support for the tipping model of service industry over there is strong, but as someone who comes from a country where tipping is non-existent (base wages are just higher), not only did I feel tipping added no value to my experience (service was not better), I actually feel it made it worse.

    • Re:As a non-US resident... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by bcboy ( 4794 ) on Monday April 17, 2017 @09:17PM (#54253623) Homepage

      It's freaking horrible for US residents, as well. I just want to buy a service, I don't want to try to work through the calculus of how well the driver performed, how much I value it, how much the driver deserves, and how much social aggression I'll face if the driver thinks they've been shorted. I just need a ride. I don't need a passive-aggressive douche pressuring me to tip well on my way to the airport.

      • I don't want to try to work through the calculus of how well the driver performed, how much I value it, how much the driver deserves, and how much social aggression I'll face if the driver thinks they've been shorted. I just need a ride. I don't need a passive-aggressive douche pressuring me to tip well on my way to the airport.

        A good rule of thumb.

        Tip 20% of the total bill.....

        There...done....easy.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      The last time I took a New York Taxi, as I paid the fare, the driver reminded me I have to give him a tip. So the tip I gave him was to drive more carefully so he doesn't run into the back of the car in front on the Grand Central Parkway, delaying my journey to the airport by 10 minutes, and to get in lane for the I-678 so he isn't almost forced into the concrete divider by other drivers who don't take kindly to arseholes trying to cut the queue.

    • As someone visiting the US, the main appeal of Uber for me was not having to deal with tipping.

      Tipping in restaurants was confusing enough, but trying to figure out what I was meant to tip a taxi driver, on top of whether the fair itself was legit, it was a nightmare.

      I know culturally support for the tipping model of service industry over there is strong, but as someone who comes from a country where tipping is non-existent (base wages are just higher), not only did I feel tipping added no value to my experience (service was not better), I actually feel it made it worse.

      I'm pretty sure that's the idea behind this proposal, to make Uber less appealing to consumers by re-introducing the tip.

      Not that I'm remotely a fan of Uber, but stunts like this help me understand their appeal.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by oic0 ( 1864384 )
      We hate it. It's pushed and perpetuated by business that want to pay their workers less while getting to advertise lower than actual prices.

  • I actually think it's reasonable to force Uber and similar services to follow the same rules as taxis in various areas.. (But really, the better solution is to REMOVE some of the rules from taxis, though I realize that screws over those who own the valuable medallions.. So maybe phase in the rule changes over time.)

    This seems really stupid though. I would just purposely tip $0, just like I do now on the starbucks app!

  • Tipping (Score:4, Insightful)

    by manu0601 ( 2221348 ) on Monday April 17, 2017 @08:54PM (#54253517)
    From a non American, tipping seems weird. If worker's income is too low, why lawmaker prefer to enforce tipping rather than minimal wage increase?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by EzInKy ( 115248 )

      Because a minimal wage increase in this case would ignore performance? I'm all for UBI and such, but some people just perform better than others when providing service. Should those peoples excellence not be rewarded?

      • Minimum wage does not counter performance incentives. You can still have both.
        I still occasionally tip in Europe. Occasionally. When the service warrants it, not every frigging time because otherwise the person doing their normal job in a normal way can't make ends meet.

        Not everyone is exceptional.
        Non exceptional people need to survive too.

      • If you want to tip people you can do it the old fashioned way with cash and do the math in your head if it's important to you. Tipping is actually about letting the diner take punitive action against service workers who don't provide service. If I get shit food and shit service then I don't leave a tip because no one involved deserves it. They deserve to get less money if they don't do their job. Ideally they would get no money, and someone else would get the job, but half-measures are better than no measur

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • how about cracking down on illegal miss-classification of hourly workers? Enforce your minimum wage laws while you're at it.

    • FWIW they recently (and surprisingly quietly) raised the minimum annual salary for overtime exemption from a paltry $23,660 to $47,476 as of December 1st. Still laughably low, but a step in the right direction. Complete text [dol.gov]. Also notable is the number is now pegged to a calculation with an automatic update every 3 years.

      So people making less than that now have a cattle prod to get a raise.

  • Get out of the way of willing transactions (Score:3)

    by Pete Smoot ( 4289807 ) on Monday April 17, 2017 @10:27PM (#54253963)

    Fer crying out loud, will people please stop getting in the middle of transactions between willing customers and willing sellers?

    I know why the limo lobby wants to do this. They want to make tipping customary so Uber doesn't have a price advantage. But forcing Uber to include a tipping option in their app? No, that's not justified. Uber can put that in if they want, drivers can choose to drive for Uber or not. It's none of the city council's business how the deal goes down.

  • Bad tip = bad rating? (Score:3)

    by HockeyPuck ( 141947 ) on Monday April 17, 2017 @10:34PM (#54253997)

    If I don't like a driver, and give them a poor tip (or no tip at all), could the driver turn around and rate me poorly on Uber's app?

  • Great, because more tipping is what we need. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by piojo ( 995934 ) on Monday April 17, 2017 @10:48PM (#54254055)

    Great, more tipping. New York can soon have:

    - more sexual discrimination
    - more beauty discrimination
    - more racial discrimination
    - more age-based discrimination
    - more obsequious in-your-business workers

    Tipping sucks. It isn't statistically tied to anything good, particularly better service. To read/listen to more about the negative effects (and correlations) of tipping, the Freakonomics podcast has got you covered: http://freakonomics.com/podcas... [freakonomics.com]

  • I love to tip good service. I don't carry cash typically.One reason I've tended to favor Lyft of late. If Uber adds this it would certainly make me happy.

  • When I signed up for Uber, there was a section where you could adjust the gratuity automatically added to your bill. The default was 20% which seems a bit steep, so I turned it down (locally it's 10% in latin america). Why should I have to tip on top of the tip? Or does the American version simply not have this built in feature?

  • I don't know what it's like in NYC, but I know that in Boston one of the big advantages of Uber/Lyft is the ability to pay by credit card AT ALL. Whenever one attemps to pay by credit card in Boston the driver will claim this his machine is "broken", and only if you don't have any cash and there's no other option will it magically "repair" itself.

  • When did you last tip the cashier in Walmart? Why is her service worth less than the guy who brought you a sandwich? (She probably did more work ringing up and bagging your purchases than the guy did carrying a sandwich from the kitchen to your table.)

    • "When did you last tip the cashier in Walmart?"

      Good luck with that. Those things wobble but they don't fall down.

  • By forcing Uber to accept tips via electronic payment, the amount of the tip and the recipient of the tip are both recorded in a database, thereby making it easily discovered and tracked by government. Intrusive governments like the ones based in Albany, NY and Washington, DC want total awareness all transactions. That way people cannot transact anonymously, and thereby successfully hide their income from things like tips. If the government doesn't know about all your sources of income, then it can't go
  • Sure, people who make software have put together some impressive solutions, but think how much better software would be if politicians were designing it?

    Think of how many killer apps there would be if the app store was more like filing a W2?

    Those government workers are always finding new ways of helping!

Slashdot Top Deals

He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion

Close