People really don't want to tip their Uber and Lyft drivers
Business Insider
Uber
- While nearly 90% of food delivery trips get tips, less than a third of Uber and Lyft trips get tips.
- Uber and Lyft drivers have complained about declining tips in recent years.
- Some drivers say tipping levels normalized after enhanced generosity during the pandemic.
In the gig economy, consistent customer tips can help turn an unprofitable side hustle into a valuable source of income. But some Americans aren’t willing to tip all kinds of gig workers.
That’s according to a new study of over 500,000 US gig drivers from Gridwise, a data analytics company and app that helps drivers track their earnings. Gridwise has a database of anonymized gig worker data across millions of trips that it used to conduct its analysis — which focused on data from January to December 2023.
The study found that nearly 90% of food delivery trips get a customer tip, compared to 75% of grocery delivery trips and 28% of Uber and Lyft ride-hailing trips. Fifty-one percent of food and grocery drivers’ incomes come from tips, compared to 10% for ride-hailing drivers.
Gridwise data provided to Business Insider showed that ride-hailing drivers' average tips per working hour increased from $1.04 in the first quarter of 2018 to $2.53 in the second quarter of 2022, but then gradually fell to $2.06 as of the third quarter of 2023 — the most recent data available.
Seventy-eight percent of gig drivers said tips matter significantly to their overall incomes, according to a survey of over 500 gig drivers conducted by Gridwise in November and December as part of its larger study.
To be sure, past research also highlights the difficulty some drivers have faceed earning tips.
A 2019 study of 40 million Uber rides by Stanford and University of Chicago researchers found that 16% of rides received tips — and that only 1% of riders left a tip for every ride.
Additionally, in a Pew Research survey of nearly 12,000 US adults conducted last August, 76% of US adults said they always or often tipped their food delivery drivers. Sixty-one said they did the same for taxi or ride-hailing services.
Last year, Business Insider spoke with several ride-hailing drivers who said customer tipping had gotten worse in recent years. One theory floated by drivers is that tipping levels normalized after enhanced generosity during the pandemic. Inflation may also have caused some Americans to tip less. Others may have gotten fed up with tipping after being asked to do it more often — like at the self-checkout line.
Some drivers say Uber and Lyft are partly responsible for poor customer tipping. They said rising trip prices, for instance, have forced some passengers to cut back on tips.
Last year, an Uber spokesperson told BI that the tipping frequency and the average tip for ride-hailing drivers had roughly doubled over the prior two years. Uber said it had taken steps in recent years to encourage higher tips, including allowing riders to tip during a trip in addition to after.
Lyft didn’t respond to BI’s request for comment.
One explanation for why Americans are more likely to tip food delivery drivers over ride-hailing drivers is that many tip them when their order is placed.
For instance, when DoorDash customers place their food delivery orders, they have the option to leave an upfront tip. This can boost the chance a driver picks up an order and helps get one’s food delivered faster.
In comparison, customers generally tip their Uber and Lyft drivers during or after a ride is completed.
Are you a gig worker willing to share your story about pay, schedule, and tipping? If so, reach out to this reporter at jzinkula@insider.com.