Sex, drugs and swearing: Here's how you could lose your Uber privileges
If you're in an Uber, please, quit the heavy petting.
Like its drivers, Uber passengers get rated out of five stars, but the rideshare service has been relatively tightlipped until now about why riders might get marked down or lose access to trips all together.
On Thursday, the company released its new community guidelines in Australia and New Zealand, suggesting it would much prefer you wait until you get home before doing anything remotely sexual. The local guidelines follow the rollout of new rider and driver rules in the U.S. early December.
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According to the guidelines, spilling you kebab in the car is also unwelcome, along with drug taking, aggressive behaviour or abusive language. That's just good manners. Also, no guns please.
"We want all Uber journeys to be enjoyable for everyone in the car," David Rohrsheim, Uber general manager for Australia and New Zealand, said in an emailed statement.
"While we find most riders are great, we've seen the odd instance of rude, inappropriate or abusive behaviour, and with this policy we're making it clear to riders this is not on."
If riders are reported for breaking the rules, Uber may investigate. Depending on the severity of the situation, they could lose access to Uber all together.
For drivers who're using the platform to make a living, the situation is more serious.
Uber drivers rely on their star rating to keep their job, while riders mostly try to avoid the embarrassment that comes with a low average.
Riders can check their average trip rating, but it's buried deep in the "help" section of the app. For now, Uber says it has no plans to introduce "minimum rating thresholds" for riders.
"Partners who drive with Uber have a unique responsibility and this requires them to be held to a very high standard of safety and quality," an Uber spokesperson told Mashable. "It's important to have clear rating thresholds for why they could lose access."
Reports suggest that threshold is 4.6 or lower for drivers.
However, the spokesperson said the new guidelines are intended to make it clear riders will also be held accountable for their actions.
So be good out there, guys.
