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Uh oh: Melbourne's Uber ratings are among the worst in Australia – here's how to up your game

Uber has just released its annual Rider Ratings Ranking, and Melbourne is among the country's three worst cities when it comes to passenger etiquette

Winnie Stubbs
Written by
Winnie Stubbs
Travel and News Editor, APAC
road in Melbourne
Photograph: Pexels | Nick English
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Melbourne might be out-doing Sydney when it comes to cost of living, general ‘liveability’ and happiness, but according to stats released today, Melburnians have once again fallen tragically short where it apparently matters most this festive season: the back seat of an Uber.

After dropping their Uber Eats stats just last month, Uber has unwrapped its annual Rider Ratings Ranking and Melbourne has landed on the naughty list for the third year running, with an average rating of 4.80. That’s below the national average of 4.82, below Sydney’s smug 4.83, and even below Geelong, where residents also hold an average rating of 4.83.

Meanwhile, the Northern Territory (with an average rating of 4.86), Tasmania (with an average rating of 4.85) and NSW (with an average rating of 4.84) have swept the national nice list, leaving Victoria taking home the dubious title of third naughtiest state. The silver lining? We’re not Western Australia – Perth has once again taken last place with a Grinch-like average rating of 4.78.

Across metro areas, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Cairns tied for first place with a sun-kissed 4.88, proving Queenslanders are simply too relaxed to slam a door or leave a discarded coffee cup rolling around in the back seat. Sydney sits in the middle of the table when it comes to metro areas, and Melbourne, notably, does not.

Whatever the reason for Melburnians’ poor passenger behaviour, Uber is urging passengers in the Victorian capital to clean up their act – reminding passengers to be ready at pick-up time, offer a friendly greeting, take rubbish home and be careful not to slam when closing doors.

For anyone sweating over their own rating, Uber has made it easy to check. Tap Account in the app, and your stars will appear in the top left. You can even head into the Privacy Centre to see how many flawless five-star trips you’ve scored and where you may have slipped into Scrooge territory.

And if you’re sitting on a shaky 4.7-something and feeling personally attacked, don’t panic – the rating is calculated from your last 500 trips, so there’s plenty of time to turn things around before 2026.

These are the average Uber ratings in Australian cities for 2025

  1. Gold Coast - 4.88
  2. Sunshine Coast - 4.88
  3. Cairns - 4.88
  4. Newcastle - 4.86
  5. Darwin - 4.86
  6. Launceston - 4.85
  7. Hobart - 4.85
  8. Wollongong - 4.83
  9. Sydney - 4.83
  10. Geelong - 4.83
  11. Canberra - 4.83
  12. Brisbane - 4.80
  13. Melbourne - 4.80
  14. Adelaide - 4.78
  15. Perth - 4.78 

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