Abstract
<jats:p>In taxi services, social rating is a sociotechnical phenomenon that transforms the nature of social interactions in the digital environment. The authors integrated the concepts of platform economics, algorithmic management, and digital trust to reveal the mechanisms of rating systems and their adaptation to local cultural contexts. The article describes the structural features, social consequences and cultural specifics of algorithmic rating systems using taxi services as an example. The comparative analysis involved seven major taxi service platforms (Yandex Go, Citymobil, Maxim, Uber, Bolt, DiDi, Gett), their document analysis, and 32 in-depth interviews with experts. The algorithmic ratings are more than a service assessment tool: they are a mechanism of social control that shapes new behavior patterns. They possess a certain paradoxical duality: sharing a universal technological basis, they nevertheless exhibit significant cultural plasticity, reproducing regional norms of social interaction. The social effects of taxi service ratings range from the transformation of labor relations to the reproduction of digital inequality. While improving the algorithmic management of social processes, the study offers a conceptual framework for analyzing the balance between the effectiveness of platform solutions and the protection of user’s rights. Apart from being quality control tools, the rating algorithms of taxi services are complex socio-technical systems that reproduce and transform cultural norms. Their development will depend on how well technological efficiency can be combined with cultural diversity. The platforms are likely to shape the new models of social interaction that go far beyond the service sector.</jats:p>