Remember when your parents told you never to talk to strangers on the internet – and never to get into a stranger’s car? Well, e-hailing has changed that by connecting passengers who want to go places, to drivers who want to take them there.
But with no parents expected to check on where you’re going and who’s taking you there, e-hailing platforms have a safety and rating system for the communities to self-evaluate and self-regulate.
That’s why you always see your driver’s rating when you hail a ride on the Bolt platform – giving every passenger that connects with that driver insight into other passengers’ experiences with them. Bolt drivers that are consistently rated low on the platform are suspended for a period of time, and counselled on how to improve their service offering in the future, ensuring that passengers have a great experience going forward.
But did you know drivers rate passengers too – and the downside to a low rating is that drivers use these ratings to decide whether or not they’ll accept a ride – meaning you may have to wait longer for a driver. Driver ratings exist to protect passengers, just as passenger ratings exist to protect drivers.
That’s because drivers are people too (yes, really!) and they’re people that are welcoming you into their space, and into their vehicle, so there are some things that every passenger can do to make sure that the ride is pleasant for everyone – and that your own ratings stay high too.
Here are some tips that you can remember to help keep your passenger score high, and your e-hailing trip a pleasant one:
- If you wouldn’t do it in your Mom’s car, don’t do it in a ride-hailing car. This goes for anything from eating messy or smelly food in the vehicle, smoking or vaping, drinking alcohol, or even suffering the consequences of a big night out while on the trip home. Your driver wants to maintain his or her high rating, so they won’t be able to accept any more trips until they’ve cleaned up your mess.
- The laws of the land apply to e-hailing too, and chances are strong that your driver will rate you low if you put them and their livelihood at risk by refusing to wear your seatbelt, for example.. If the traffic police stop them, they’ll be vulnerable to a fine caused by your actions – and no five star rating will ever come from that.
- Use the ‘call’ function in the app sparingly – by all means use it to make sure that you find one another, but starting to call your driver the minute they’ve accepted your ride, and calling, again and again, to find out where they are, is not going to score any (good) points. It’s also wisest to let them concentrate on driving rather than accepting calls, for their own safety too.
- Most e-hailing apps give a guideline on how many people can fit in a vehicle, so insisting that you and all six of your friends can squeeze into a hatchback is not only a safety risk, it’s also not fair to your driver. What’s more, under COVID-19 regulations, it’s quite simply illegal.
- The beauty of e-hailing is that it’s an on-demand service – which means that you only need to hail your ride when you need it – at most five minutes before you need to leave, as there are likely drivers in your area. Meeting the driver and then expecting him to wait while you light up and finish a cigarette, or dash inside to finish packing your bags is just rude – and drivers are likely to show their displeasure at this by giving you a low rating.
It’s worth noting that if you – or a driver – give the other party in a ride a single star rating at the end of a Bolt trip, the system blocks that passenger-driver pairing from ever being matched for a ride again. But, South Africa’s a small place, and nobody needs that kind of negative energy, right?
We do need everyone to treat everyone with respect and kindness so that we can all get to where we need to be in a safe and pleasant way – whether that’s going on a ride via e-hailing or using a platform to earn an income to support a family.