Uber Sucks!
Last night Jackie, Barbara, and some other teenage friends were at City Line Bar & Grill, in Baltimore, less than 2-miles from Jackie's home. Jackie and I didn't drive because we knew we'd be drinking and we didn't have a designated driver, so I downloaded the Uber and Lyft apps to my iPhone. I setup both with accounts before we left for the bar so we'd be all set when we were ready to leave for the night.
I've never used Uber or Lyft, but knew it was the way to go for a sober, cheap way home. Around 1:00 AM, I tapped the Uber app to setup a ride. The app automatically pinpointed where we were and requested the destination which I typed-in. Three options popped-up with estimated costs; an economy, standard, and luxury option. There were just two of us, so the only option I was interested in was the economy. The estimated cost was a whopping $92.00, for a less than 2-mile ride of approximately 6-minutes of drive time. I almost fell out of my chair. I was floored! When I told Jackie, she couldn't believe it and thought something was wrong. The app displayed the map of the route from where we were to our destination; there was no mistake. The standard and luxury option costs skyrocketed all the way up-to $237.00.
I told Jackie to forget it, that I'd walk the distance before I'd pay $92.00 for a 1.3-mile drive. So I tapped on the Lyft app. The app provided more options for the ride, depending on the type of vehicle you wanted such as 2-door, 4-door, sedan, suv, luxury, etc. I choose the basic vehicle. The estimated cost was $6-$8 with a drive time of 6-minutes. Of course, I selected it, put my thumbprint on my iPhone, paying for the ride automatically with my credit card. The app showed a picture of the driver and his vehicle, in addition to a little map of where his vehicle was in approximation to where we were; 4-minutes away. The driver arrived, who was very friendly and professional, and drove us back to Jackie's house safely and securely. We exited the vehicle and thanked the driver for the ride. I didn't know how to tip the driver or if it was included. When we went inside, I received an email immediately from Lyft thanking me for using their services, in addition to an option to be able to tip the driver by tapping circles indicating $0, $2, $5, $10, and so on.
My suggestion to you, if you don't have a designated driver, is to download both apps to your mobile phone and compare prices before selecting one or the other for your ride home. I doubt Uber will get any future business from me, based on last night's experience. read more