Uber is now letting passengers in three US cities tip drivers, a feature that the ride-sharing company has been reluctant to implement in the past.
In an email titled “180 days of change,” the company proposed solutions to problems that have often drawn the ire of drivers. Listed front and center in its proposal was one of its more pressing issues, the topic of tipping. Starting today, riders in Seattle, Minneapolis and Houston will have the option to tip their Uber drivers, while tipping will be rolling out to the rest of Uber's US cities by the end of July 2017.
The change comes just days after former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, a longstanding opponent of tipping, went on leave from the company. Uber's new campaign, intended to make driving "more flexible and less stressful," is set to announce additional changes within the next few weeks. However, the rideshare giant did share some new policies today — a shorter, two-minute cancellation window (drivers will get paid if a rider cancels after two minutes), the removal of unpaid wait times and access to driver injury protection insurance.
If you don’t already have an Uber account, you can sign up here to receive a $20 credit from TPG. Additionally, be sure to sync a credit card with your Uber account that will earn you the greatest return on your ride, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve for 3x points per dollar on travel or the Amex Platinum card, which offers a $200 annual Uber credit to cardholders.
H/T: CNBC
