With the rising number of Uber drivers and riders across the world, the company has had a hard time implementing policies and imposing punishments on drivers who defy regulations. The company has embraced the culture of deactivating driver accounts as a form of punishment which denies the driver both earnings and popularity which at the long run sees them out of the business.
The company has given reasons for deactivation after concerns were raised over surging deactivation of driver accounts.
Star Ratings
After every trip, drivers and riders rate each other on a five-star scale and give feedback on how the trip went. This two-way system holds everyone accountable for their own behavior. Drivers’ rating is based on an average of the number of post-trip stars riders give (from 1 to 5 stars), up to your last 500 rated trips or the total number of trips you’ve taken, if less than 500. There is a minimum average rating in each city and Uber alerts the driver if they are approaching this limit. If the average rating still falls below the minimum after multiple notifications, the account is deactivated.
Cancellation rates
A driver cancellation is when a driver accepts a trip request and then cancels the trip. Cancellation rate is based on the number of trips cancelled out of the total number of trips accepted. (For example, if you’ve accepted 100 trips and 4 of them are cancelled, your cancellation rate would be 4%.) High-quality drivers typically have a low cancellation rate less than 5%. If the rate continues to exceed the maximum limit, the account is then deactivated.
Fraud
Drivers who indulge in fraud risk deactivation; this ,may include Deliberately increasing the time or distance of a trip; Accepting trips without the intention to complete, including provoking riders to cancel; Creating dummy rider or driver accounts for fraudulent purposes; Claiming fraudulent fees or charges, like false cleaning fees; and Intentionally colluding or pre-arranging trips with fraudulent riders are some of the factors that may lead to deactivation.
Rider privacy
Uber may deactivate the account of any driver who fails to respect the privacy of riders, for example: Contacting a rider after providing the service for personal reasons, such as requesting the rider a personal favor or for a date; and Appearing at the residence of a former rider unannounced or stalking a former rider.
Compliance with the law
Uber may permanently deactivate for activities such as: Engaging in any conduct that amounts to a criminal violation (except traffic citations) while using the Uber app, considered a material breach of the driver’s service commitment, and a single transgression could lead to a permanent deactivation; Not maintaining valid vehicle registration or driver’s license; and Receiving serious traffic citations, or several traffic citations that indicate unsafe driving, while using the Uber app.