Uber is making some changes to the way it works in the UK. Billed as being good news for drivers they don’t seem to all be rider-friendly.

• From tomorrow, in-app tipping will come to the UK. This includes UberEATS, its food delivery service.
• Drivers will now be paid if riders keep them waiting. The first two minutes of waiting time are free and after that riders will be charged 20p per minute. uberXL, EXEC and LUX trips will be either 20p or the relevant per minute rate – whichever is higher. This starts on 22 August.
• Riders can currently cancel a trip within five minutes of ordering a car. This is being reduced to two minutes before the £5 cancellation fee is charged. If the driver is running more than five minutes later than the original ETA. If the trip is cancelled whilst the driver is waiting, only the £5 will be due – not the waiting charge. This starts on 22 August.
• Good news for drivers is the option to tell Uber that they need to be in a particular place at a given time – for example, when going off shift. The system will try and match their request to journeys in the area.
• There are also changes to the way in which the rating system works. Where a driver gets a low rating due to an issue beyond their control, for example an error on the app, they can get this low rating removed by Uber.