Uber Allows Riders to Tip Drivers via App, Matching Lyft<br />SAN FRANCISCO — Uber is enabling passengers to tip its U. S. drivers with a tap on its ride-hailing<br />app for the first time, part of a push to recast itself as a company with a conscience and a heart.<br />Rachel Holt said that These drivers are our most important partners, but we haven’t done a very good job honoring that partnership,<br />Uber wouldn’t budge in previous talks about tipping but relented when it appeared<br />that poor driver relations were hurting its bottom line, said Tavares, a steward for the Independent Drivers Guild, which had pressed for tipping.<br />The attempt to smooth over its sometimes testy relationship with drivers is part of a broader effort to reverse damage done to Uber’s reputation by revelations of sexual harassment in its offices, allegations of trade secrets theft<br />and an investigation into efforts to mislead government regulators.<br />Drivers are happy about the tips but would like more from Uber in New York City, where costs are high<br />and they have trouble making a living, said Luiny Tavares, a driver in Manhattan.<br />The expanded earnings opportunities are the first step in what Uber is billing as "180 days of change" for its U. S. drivers.
