Have You Taken An Uber?

The other night I took an Uber ride from a friend’s house back to mine.  I don’t have the app nor had I tried it before, but because we had enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and dinner, neither of us were in a position to drive.  I don’t drive after one glass of wine, even with dinner so when I chose to have the second glass, I knew that I was either staying over in her guest room or finding a ride home.  She assured me that she has used Uber before with success so I tried not to worry.

And it worked out fine for me.  I guess I have to get with the times because I know a lot of people who use it when they’re going out with friends to dinner so that nobody has to worry about drinking and driving.  It’s become commonplace.  My brother’s kids use it to get around town when they need a ride and there’s not someone to take them to practice etc.

But there’s that part of me that, maybe because of my age, I’m timid about getting a ride from a stranger to my home.  I know that it’s all the rage, but I think I’d feel better in a cab.  Because it’s a service vehicle and not someone’s personal car.  While it worked out well for me that night, there have been some instances when it didn’t.

Like that girl from USC who thought she was getting in the Uber and instead, got into a stranger’s car with the child roof locks enabled in the backseat and was murdered recently.  With all the technology today, you’d think that it would be safe.  You can see when and how the Uber driver is arriving on the app.  You know his name and vehicle and you think you’re safe.  But maybe not?  At least in her case, it wasn’t, which breaks my heart.

Have you had any experience with Uber?  I remember when I first heard about it years ago.  People would tell me to use Lyft because they did background checks, but the Uber driver I had recently told me that Uber does that too.  But still…I have a tough time trusting.

Do you recall the days when you weren’t supposed to talk with strangers, let alone get into their cars???  Modern technology and the times, they are a’changing for sure.

♥