Uber expands six-month ban for passengers with low ratings to New Zealand and Australia

Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

• Uber will start issuing six-month bans to riders in
  Australia and New Zealand who have a rating below four stars,
  according to BBC.
• The bans are intended to encourage respectful behavior
  toward drivers, like leaving their cars clean, being at their
  pick-up spot, and being friendly, Uber said. 
• The new policy will go into place September
  19. 

Starting soon, being rude to your Uber driver could get you
booted off the service — if you live in Australia or New
Zealand. 

In an effort to weed out problematic customers, Uber will start
issuing six-month bans to riders in Australia and New Zealand who
have a rating below four stars, the company
told BBC. The bans are intended to encourage respectful
behavior toward drivers, like leaving their cars clean, being at
their pick-up spot, and being friendly, Uber said. 

Uber currently allows both drivers and passengers to rate each
other in the Uber app after each ride, and drivers can be kicked
off the platform if their rating falls too low. Until now, Uber
has only tested a temporary ban for low passenger ratings in
Brazil. 

Uber told BBC that the new rule likely won’t affect a significant
portion of its customers — Uber estimates that 90% of its
customers in Australia and New Zealand already have a rating of
4.5 stars or more. Customers who receive the ban would have had
to receive multiple one-star reviews by their drivers, Uber said.

For those users who are in danger of dropping below a four-star
rating, Uber will give them a chance to redeem themselves. Users
will receive a few warnings when their rating is getting low, and
if they fail to improve, they will receive the temporary ban.

The new policy will go into effect on September 19 in Australia
and New Zealand.