You Might Be One Ride Away From A Great Mood

Believe it or not, I took my first Uber ride on my own this week.  I have never minded taking cabs but since the rise of companies like Uber and Lyft, I have been resistant.  I felt comfort in knowing that if I called a cab company, they would show up in a car with signage, usually bright colours and a car number and I would not have to worry about getting into a nondescript car with minimal indications that it was a vehicle for hire.  So I refused to go with the trend and continued to take traditional cabs when I needed to get somewhere.  I was extremely skeptical, to say the least.    

My attitude started changing a bit when I mentored a person who was looking for a job in their field of finance but in the interim, was an Uber driver.  She was able to set her own schedule so that she was available to go on interviews, the company offered incentives and recognition programs and the revenue helped tremendously.  My skepticism about this fad started waning. 

More and more, I started hearing people talk about taking various ride services and not using the traditional companies that are out there.  Not only were they using those services for themselves, they were also using them to get food delivered.  Food delivery services via these ride companies has become a booming business as well.  The commerce involved in delivery is pretty incredible. 

So on Monday, I needed to get to a work dinner in mid-town Toronto and I was coming from the east side of town.  I had everything planned: I was going to take transit so I worked out the time I was going to leave and the route to take.  But, as it usually happens, a series of events occurred and I started to run short on time.  Best laid plans, right?  As I was trying to wrap up and hustle out, a co-worker came to see me and I lamented to her about my situation.  I also had a bit of a headache so that made the journey seem even more arduous.  She said why don’t you take an Uber?  She was in the right place at the right time and she was the right person because she is no stranger to the Uber experience.  After a minute of thinking, we went into her app and checked the cost of getting where I needed to get.  I was amazed.  The cost was almost half the price of what I would have paid if I called a traditional cab company and asked for a flat rate.  We loaded the app on my phone, I registered and then I ordered my first ride. 

By the time I got out of the office, my driver Jean was already there.  I jumped in the car and off we went.  The car was spotless – something that is not always the case with cabs and the ride was excellent.  As luck would have it, there was little traffic which made the experience even greater and I was at the restaurant in 25 minutes.  I said a jolly goodbye to Jean and hopped out of the car.  I was the first to get to the restaurant and was literally twiddling my thumbs waiting for the rest of the group.  What I thought was going to be a rough journey turned out to be quite enjoyable and a great introduction to using a ride service. 

The cost and the ease are pretty unbeatable factors.  No looking at the meter rising or getting an astronomical flat rate from one city to the next, no having to wait in the vehicle to awkwardly settle your bill.  I hope it’s like this every time I use the service, though I have heard criticism about some things like price surges at certain times.

I’ve also gone on the website and there is a lot of great information about the company.  Did you know that Uber is in over 700 cities worldwide and that they are involved in philanthropic efforts globally?  This article isn’t an ad for Uber, just a declaration of the fact that while I was a late adopter, I am now a convert.  Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.

Have a great week, Shades readers!