The thing is... the driver rating isn't really a real "rating" any more. It's terrifically skewed because everyone knows the drivers basically have to be a level 5 or else they'll essentially get fired.

I feel terrible giving anyone a 4 or below because I know they might get banned from the platform and possibly lose their livelihood. Even if they're a mediocre driver, can't speak English, don't know where they're going and have a smelly car, I don't want that on my conscience that they get fired and can't feed their kids or pay for school.

Most people are aware of know how hard Uber is on their drivers and so now it's become that unless the driver commits an egregious act (road rage, wrong way down a 1 way street, unsafe practices, sexually inappropriate comments) everyone universally gets 5s. If Uber really wanted real rankings they would encourage ACTUAL feedback and have some sort of training and remediation process, not just banning people people if their rating drops below 4.7.

I find tipping frequently awkward but never so in a Lyft. I get a company Lyft credit for trips to/from office so almost always tip on those. For personal trips, I feel no pressure to tip but appreciate the opportunity to do so. I recall a trip to the hotel from Disneyland with 2 toddlers in pouring rain that took 40 minutes to go 3 miles with a total fare of something like $8. That's an easy tip situation.

Ratings don't replace the feature, as you don't really choose your driver.

That's actually not what the tipping screen looks like now. Here's what it's looked like since 2014 http://thehub.lyft.com/blog/2014/10/13/revamped-pay-screen