‘Nothing like Southern charm:’ Uber riders in this NC city ranked among best in US
Uber passengers in one North Carolina city are among the most well-behaved in the country, the ride-share company says.
Asheville ranks No. 4 in the Rider Ratings Report, which identities the locations where drivers were most satisfied with their trips, according to results shared Thursday with McClatchy News.
Uber allows both drivers and passengers to anonymously score their rides on a scale that ranges from 1 to 5 stars.
To come up with its report, the company analyzed average ratings that drivers gave to riders from January 2019 to January 2020, spokesperson Lexi Levin Mitchel wrote in an email.
And apparently, there’s “nothing like Southern charm.”
The region is home to five other cities that earned spots in Uber’s top 10: Birmingham, Alabama; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Columbia, South Carolina; and Pensacola, Florida.
In the Tar Heel State, Asheville wasn’t the only city to get recognized.
Wilmington had the 10th-best improvement in rider ratings from 2018 to 2019, according to Uber.
Overall, the city with the highest-rated riders was Colorado Springs, results show. Seattle passengers had the most improvement from year to year, the ride-share company says.
On a quest for 5-star ratings?
Drivers recommend passengers be on time and avoid being messy, among other courteous behavior, according to Uber.
Timing could be another factor, as U.S. passengers are more likely to get the highest ratings after morning rides and on Fridays, findings show.
Also this week, Uber announced the launch of a feature that allows app users to discretely report safety concerns.
The company in December released data about sexual assaults, fatal crashes and other “critical safety incidents,” finding 99.9% of trips had no such issues, according to Uber.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 4:54 PM with the headline "‘Nothing like Southern charm:’ Uber riders in this NC city ranked among best in US."
