One thing that can be said about Melburnians is that we like a party. And it's hard not to when you live here, with the ripper bars and nightclubs that we have. But perhaps, this asset of our city is working against us in another respect – because it turns out that we might be misbehaving a little on our trips home from a night out on the town. Uber has released rankings of rider ratings per city, and it's not looking great for us.
Melbourne placed 14th out of 15 metro areas, scraping in just above Perth. Oh dear. According to Uber's data, our average score is 4.8 out of a possible 5 stars. It doesn't sound so bad, but the facts don't lie: we're the second-worst city in Australia. But, in so many other ways, our city is simply the best. But nobody's perfect!
Topping the list was Newcastle with an average rating of 4.89, followed by Cairns with 4.88 and then Wollongong with 4.87. Geelong was the other Victorian city on the list and fared better, coming in at the ninth spot with a rating of 4.83. In 2024, the average Uber rating in Australia was 4.82, so Melburnians fall just below the national average.
You can see how you fare personally by checking your rating in the top left corner of the Uber app. If you’re feeling shameful about your current rating, you can probably blame your drunk friend from a few months ago; Uber ratings are based on your past 500 trips, so it just takes one less-than-ideal journey for your personal rating to plummet.
If you're keen to turn over a new leaf in the new year, it's not hard. Uber has shared the top five tips for scoring five stars from your driver, which are: be on time, be friendly, don’t make a mess, don’t slam the door, be respectful and be kind. So basically, don't be a dickhead.
You can learn more about Uber's two-way rating system here. This year’s rider ratings rankings from Uber are below:
Average rider rating in metro areas:
- Newcastle - 4.89
- Cairns - 4.88
- Wollongong - 4.87
- Gold Coast - 4.87
- Sunshine Coast - 4.86
- Sydney - 4.84
- Darwin - 4.83
- Hobart - 4.83
- Geelong - 4.83
- Adelaide - 4.82
- Launceston - 4.82
- Brisbane - 4.82
- Canberra - 4.81
- Melbourne - 4.80
- Perth - 4.79
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