Good morning Loves. Have you jumped on the Uber bandwagon yet? I have extremely mixed feelings about the discount car service and it seems that for a single young woman the cons by far outweigh the pros.
What is Uber?
To put it frankly Uber is like the biggest international taxi service around the world – except they’re not taxis. There is not set rate per mile and no meter clocking your trip. Uber is the brand name and all the drivers are independent workers.
If you check out the Uber website you’ll get an idea of what they’re all about. Headquartered out of San Francisco Uber gives everyone a chance to work for them. Yes that’s right anyone with a car can apply to be an Uber driver. From the stories I’ve heard the majority of Uber drivers have other jobs and chauffeur as a side hustle. It’s not a bad way to make a little extra cash – if people use the service, which I don’t.
How does it work?
You download the Uber app and order a car. When you enter your trip you will see a list of drivers in the area as well as the price they’re willing to accept from point A to point B. It’s basically a bidding war as every Uber driver sets their own price.
Once you find a driver you like (they’re rated by previous passengers) at the price you want you order the car and they come pick you up. It seems pretty simple right? Well only if you like getting in a car with a complete stranger who is not registered and licensed by a taxi company.
Why Uber is a good service
Just like Air BnB the idea of Uber is a great concept. It allows local residents who may be out of work to still make a living by using the resources they have. It also gives people who are down on their luck the opportunity to make a little extra cash on the side and I always support that. However just like Air BnB there can definitely be issues with legal stuff, accountability and of course safety.
The one reason why I’ll never use Uber
BF used Uber once and he absolutely loved it. A trip that would have cost $45 in a cab ride only cost $22 with Uber and that’s awesome. However taking an unauthorized car ride as a man is absolutely different than taking it as a single young woman.
Every time I think about booking a trip with Uber I see a story on the news about an Uber driver who attacked a female passenger or I read an article in Marie Claire magazine that says Uber is not doing enough to protect its female passengers.
The fact that Uber employs independent workers who have zero accountability makes me nervous. I feel there is a certain level of loyalty when employees work for a company and people who drive for Uber on a part time basis may not have the same high standards.
Photo from I’d Pin That
I have never lived in an area where Uber was an option, so I haven’t done much looking into it. But I gotta say, my impression has always been – so this is some sort of taxi / what’s the big deal? 🙂
I feel like I’ve heard just as many horror stories about licensed cab drivers being creepy/dangerous as I have Uber drivers. If cab companies don’t enforce their policies, regular cabbies are really no different, they just have different vehicles.