Going for a ride
My driver that afternoon was 67 years old.
He shared, after little prodding, that he was doing it — freelancing as an Uber chauffeur — to help his son pay for the car we were in. He said he would be 72 by the time they’ll be done with the monthly installments. “Life expectancy is so much higher now,” I said perkily, even as I sensed the surge of anxiety in his voice. It was something I wasn’t really expecting to hear, but it’s these tales, told with refreshing candor by strangers who take me from home to work and back, that have made my Uber rides quite pleasant.
I noticed that people have no qualms about being open with me, which as a writer I have come to truly appreciate. There was one driver who, as we waded through early evening traffic, began talking about his past career as the bodyguard of a very popular actor. Another one, I found out, signed up his car with Uber because he wanted to earn some extra cash after a day at the office — he works in one of the high-rises on my street — and meet interesting individuals along the way.
RIDER ANECDOTES
Yet another offered to teach me how to drive after I casually mentioned that since my trusted driver was let go, I’ve been considering taking refresher courses to enable me to move around more independently. Jim Jarmusch’s Night On Earth, released in 1991, is a collection of five stories involving cab drivers in five different cities. Someone should give this film the 21st century treatment using anecdotes from Uber riders.
“This human element has been crucial in fueling the sharing-economy companies,” Joel Stein wrote in Time magazine. “The sharing economy — which isn’t about sharing so much as ruthlessly optimizing everything around us and delivering it at the touch of a button — is the culmination of all our connectivity, our wealth, our stuff.”
ADAPT OR DIE
Uber, founded in 2009 and funded by the powers-that-be at Silicon Valley, leads the clutch of startups that allows the public to hail rides via app. It’s a shame, but also understandable, that Manila taxi operators are up in arms over it. Uber, through its UberBlack and UberX services, is a godsend to the consumer, offering rides that are safe and traceable in vehicles that are considerably new and well-maintained —the complete opposite of what standard taxis c urrently provide. Unlike desperate cabbies who ask for tips without shame, Uber rounds down the fare, charged to one’s Visa or Mastercard by the app even before anyone gets in the car.
In some ways Uber represents the comeuppance that these deplorable taxi fleet companies deserve. Unless they upgrade their vehicles, embrace technology and, most important, retrain their drivers, they’ll find their riders — at least the sensible ones — migrating to Uber in increasing numbers and never looking back. There’s a possibility that US-based Lyft, Uber’s main rival, will also enter the market, so traditional taxi businesses must finally decide if they want to adapt or die.
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