That's where the beauty of Uber comes in. Not only is it more convenient than standing on the side of the road (in the rain, holding boxes) and trying to flag down a taxi, it's also safer. I feel a lot more confident walking out to a car that's parked and waiting for me, as opposed to leaning as far into the street as I dare to go to flag down a cab that may stop, but may go whizzing by me. It's even worse at night. After a night out, and drivers can't see as well, hailing a cab from the middle of the street is dangerous.
While cab companies may do some kind of background checks on their employees, Uber has the most stringent background checks around. They also have a $1 million insurance policy for each ride. Drivers who don't do as good as a job, aren't polite, or have dirty cars will get a lower ranking, and when their ranking drops too low, they can't drive for Uber anymore.
I've been in gross cabs. I've had rude drivers. I've been lost. Never with Uber. So why is the government trying to shut this company down? Why can't an innovative idea that people are actively supporting be accepted in certain cities? Why does the government think it knows better than the consumer on what works and what doesn't? Our government is stuck in these old ideas that just don't work anymore. Cabs were once a great convenience, but when new, innovative ideas come about, Washington is too scared to change and embrace new ideas that have the power to grow our economy.
Philadelphia, a city with one of the highest crime rates in the US, launched UberX this weekend, providing not only safer rides for Philly residents, but also new jobs for people in the area. The police apparently had no bigger crime to fight this past weekend than people just trying to get a ride home. They set up a sting operation, using two patrol cars and two cops on horseback, and not only impounded the cars, but also fined the drivers.
But Uber does more than just get people home safely, create jobs, and make commuting way easier. Last week when I was sick, I used the Uber Essentials to bring DayQuil, NyQuil, and Ibuprofen to my front door, because I was too exhausted to try to walk down to CVS to get some for myself.
This past summer, we have Uber Ice Cream deliver to the office on a hot day. Not only did they show up to the office with delicious ice cream treats, they also made us balloon animals!
At a loss for a Halloween costume this weekend? Uber will deliver you a costume right to your door. Remember the Cherry Blossoms? Uber took people around in pedicabs to enjoy the views. Need a Christmas tree? No worries, they'll deliver that.
Uber isn't just providing rides. It's providing a service that people, in cities especially, need. They're becoming the one stop shop for a lot of items, delivered to your door at a low price, by a respectful and professional driver. As somebody who lives in a big city and doesn't own a car, it's harder for me to go pick out a Christmas tree. (You can't really carry that on the train.)
I recently took a cab home from work when it was raining. Loaded down with bags, I just grabbed the first cab that came by. Once we started driving, he told me his credit card machine was down. I had $3.00 in change, that didn't get me two blocks in rush hour traffic. He kicked me out on the corner in the rain. I left my phone in the cab, and never saw it again. I called my phone countless times, call the cab companies, and tried to track it, but it was turned off. I couldn't track the specific cab, because the driver wouldn't take my card. This would never happen in an Uber, where I can instantly email Uber, and have my phone driver right back to me, but when it happens in a taxi, I'm out of luck.
And if you needed any reminding, DC taxi drivers are the worst. Somehow they think clogging traffic for the people of DC will make us like them more, and choose them over Uber. Jerks.
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