I have always had a fear of taxis. My imagination gets a little too wild and creative when I think of all the possible scary taxi scenarios. I don’t get anxious about many things, but getting in the car with a stranger (who could be a creepy bad guy) and then having to pay him an undetermined amount of money (remember my yard sale pet peeve) ranks high on my list of anxiety-inducing activities.
I haven’t spend much time in big cities, so I’ve never been forced to get over my taxi-phobia. I’ve only taken a taxi three times- once in New York and twice in Central America. I was never in charge of calling the taxi or paying the cabby. I was always with someone else who knew what they were doing and I just tagged along.
Firsts
I took my first-ever blog-related trip this month! I had a meeting in Los Angeles and flew down for the day, then back up that evening. That wasn’t the only novelty though. Perhaps the bigger deal was that I went alone. Just me.
It’s been seven years since I’ve gone to the bathroom alone (okay, not quite, but close), so an 18-hour trip completely by myself was particularly noteworthy. Dad got the kids off to school in the morning and Grandma helped take care of the littlest ones during the day.
My Dilemma
My biggest dilemma was finding a way to get from the airport to my meeting. I fretted about it for days before the trip. Checking out Google maps, I saw that my meeting was just 10 miles away from the airport. My first thought was “That’s not too far, I could totally walk!” Then my imagination ran away with all the unknowns of walking alone ten miles through Los Angeles. That might be scarier than taking a taxi.
Renting a car was another possibility, but then I would have to drive it in a crazy, crowded, unfamiliar city. Since I was only going to be there just for the day, it would have been much more expensive than my other options, plus I would have to pay outrageous prices to park it anywhere in the city.
Enter Uber
I started researching Uber and thought it might just be my answer. The Uber model took care of some of my biggest issues with Taxis:
- You get a price range for your trip when you enter your destination. Part of the fare is a base rate, part is based on distance and part is based on time.
- There is no money exchanged. You pay automatically through the Uber phone app at the end of your ride with the credit card you enter in the app.
- In most cases Uber is cheaper than a taxi. I went online for some taxi estimates so I could compare.
- Your driver wants a good rating. After each ride, you have the opportunity to rate your driver. Maintaining excellent ratings is crucial for their job. This put my mind more at ease about getting a creepy, scary driver.
- You see exactly where you’re at on the app’s map. You can track the car’s position on the route map, so you know your driver isn’t taking you a long round-about way (or kidnapping you). It’s also nice to see your estimated arrival time as you go along.
- There is no tipping. Any tipping outside of a restaurant has always felt awkward for me. There’s no tipping with Uber. The driver works hard to please you to get a good rating, not a good tip.
- You “call” a ride through the app. No making phone calls or hailing a taxi on the street. Big plus for me!
- The app gives the driver your exact location. It’s easy to get picked up even when you don’t know where you are!
I found a code for $20 off your first Uber ride and put that in my app so it was all ready.
When I Get All Brave
So, I did it! All by myself! After a few deep breaths, I used my newly-installed Uber app to request a ride from the airport to my meeting.
I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to know which ride pulling up to airport curb was for me, but I was happy to see that Uber had that all figured out for me. After requesting the ride, the app showed me the name, photo, car model, license plate, and rating of my driver. I could also follow his location on the map in the Uber app.
Easy peasy!
Once I was in the car and realized my driver was nice and just doing his job, I relaxed and enjoyed the ride.
On my trip back to the airport that evening, I shared an Uber ride with someone I met at the meeting. The Uber app makes this simple. If your friend has the app, you just click share and enter their phone number. They will get a message asking them to verify that they want to split the fare with you. When the ride is over, you’ll each be charged half of the fare.
Give Uber a Try for Free
If you’re traveling in a city with Uber, I totally recommend giving it a try. You can enter my code yadatue to get a credit on your account of up to $20 for your first ride. My account gets a credit as well. Maybe in the next decade I’ll take another solo trip and get to use it. After you take your first ride, you’ll get your own code by which your friends can try Uber for free (or $20 off) and you can also get a credit.
How About You?
- Is there anyone else out there with taxi-phobia, or is it just me?
- Have you tried Uber, Lyft or another ride-share company? What was your experience?
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I have this problem. I’ve been in many taxis and uber but if I’m to be alone, I worry about it for days beforehand. I saw a movie as a kid where the taxi driver locks the doors and then the window hand cranks fell off when the woman tried to escape out the window. I also have an overactive imagination! This article only helped me feel I’m in good company. 😄
I was really cracking up at the part where you second-guessed the idea of walking 10 miles through Los Angeles, and am so glad you took the Uber (I’ve never tried it, but I think I will if given the chance in the future!). Los Angeles has some scary people wandering around out there!
I have only ever been in a taxi once for the same reasons as you! I don’t know why taxis freak me out so bad but they do! And God bless you for being brave to go in a taxi by yourself, seriously. The only time I’ve been in a taxi I was sitting with a group of friends all crowded in the back seat. We went one block and realized the traffic was a nightmare and we could get to a friend’s car by walking faster than we could by the taxi. So my cabby experience was all of about 5 minutes. 🙂 I have friends that have used Uber and rave about it so whenever I’m in need of one I’ll definitely check them out.
I’m with Vera on this one – at least in most jurisdictions, taxi drivers have background checks, whereas with Uber drivers, there are absolutely no background checks in place. And yes, bad stuff can still happen in a taxi; but then it’s easier for the police to find the driver, because everything is transparent and the records exist to track the driver easily. (You have no idea if the Uber driver is using their real name or an alias; driving their own car; etc.) Also, in most places in the developed world, you can easily download a taxi app for whichever city you’re in which will give you a very good estimate of how much a taxi will cost; in the developing world you either agree on a price beforehand, or ask to be taken to whichever up-scale Western motel is closest wherever you’re going, throw some money at the taxi driver, and run into the hotel where they can’t follow you.
Uber could be a good side hustle, depending where you live. My coworker does it on the side a few hours a week a few times a month and he says he brings in an extra $500 a month. We live outside of DC so it’s a good area for Uber. He doesn’t even do it at night, only afternoons and early evenings. I thought about it but I don’t want to use my car and I’m not sure how it would change my auto insurance. Something to think about though for those looking for a side hustle!
” I don’t get anxious about many things, but getting in the car with a stranger (who could be a creepy bad guy) ”
HUH???? The taxi driver is a stranger but an Uber driver isn’t???
You should know that Uber does not fingerprint its drivers while taxi cab companies do. There have been numerous rapes, gropings, robberies, etc from Uber drivers on the job. You can’t fake fingerprints but you can fake names, ss numbers, etc.
Some reading you might want to do:
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Risky-Ride-Uber-Investigation-256604571.html
http://www.cnet.com/news/whos-really-taking-you-for-an-uber-ride/
You’re not alone Vera. My husband thought the same thing (that it is weird that I am less afraid of an Uber driver than a taxi driver). I guess I just trust in the strong influence an Uber driver’s rating has. If their rating drops, they lose their job. In some cities, anything less than 5 stars puts their job at risk. I think I have seen too many movies with crazy scary cab drivers or something. I bet the same terrible things happen in taxis, but taxis have been around forever, so they don’t make the news like Uber and Lyft do.
Thanks for the article Stephanie! I had heard of Uber and hope to try it for the first time. Thanks for the code!
I had a great experience and hope you do too!
I was where you are 15 years ago – plugging away at $50K of my husband’s college debt. We did it in two years, but it was excruciating. And liberating! I hope you get so many people using your Uber code that you never have to pay for a ride again!
Congratulations getting your debt paid off Laura! The funny thing about the Uber code is that we live in the boonies (which is also why I just barely discovered Uber), so times I’d use a ride are rare. Maybe I’ll get another chance someday though! 🙂
I super love UBER!!! We use it a lot for those nights when no one wants to drive and the free rides are awesome, too!
That’s great Elise!