[larrys]

I guess that doesn't make sense to me. I thought one of the bedrock principles of these types of services was a situation where you knew a bit about the person (reputation) that you were transporting.

Additionaly, nothing is to prevent a driver from keeping a small amount of cash on their person and then stashing the rest periodically in a hidden safe. So yes they might lose $50 or $100 vs. not getting tips. Even if they don't get tips a person could assume they had some cash on them.

The point of the small amount of cash is twofold. One it's a small amount so if you lose it not that big of a deal. But it's also enough that if you got robbed you could give something to the robber. So they don't harm you or beat you thinking there is more somewhere. [1] This is similar to the old rule of leaving a small amount of cash in your cash register at a store and leaving the register open. That way someone comes in, takes the cash, and in theory has less of a reason to trash your store.

[1] Of course you could store more of the money where you can find it to satisfy them if the $100 wasn't enough and if you felt your life depended on it. Kind of a honey pot in a way.