We all knew it was too good to last, right? Well, Uber drivers, now envious that Lyft and regular taxi drivers get nice gratuities from passengers, are pushing to get a gratuity function added to the Uber app. But wasn't the whole point of Uber was that it was a clean and tidy transaction, tip included?
As ABC 7 reports, there was an online petition circulating, now closed, created by one Peter Faris, asking Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to add an in-app tipping function, explaining that only with UberTAXI is there a 20 percent tip automatically included. "But if you're riding in an UberX, UberBlack, or UberSUV, there's no way to tip your driver."
Faris, who's been driving for the company for two and a half years, adds, "Uber doesn't prevent drivers from accepting a cash tip, but many people use Uber because they no longer carry cash, so it makes sense to have tipping as an in-app option."
Am I the only person who never knew, despite how cheap UberX fares often are, that tips were not included? That was part of the proposition from the get-go, I thought there was no decision to make about tipping, it was all included, and this is one of the very reasons for Uber's enormous popularity.
The petition came just shy of reaching its goal of 14,000 signatures.
In other recent Uber news, their whole business model along with Lyft's could be in major trouble if a federal judge decides that they can't legally keep calling their drivers independent contractors, what with their whole business basically depending on the drivers.
