It's about 3:20 am and I just completed my first Uber ride! I was wondering what all the hype was about because I have seen their advertisements on the sides of buses and have friends that request an Uber pickup after a late night outing in Manhattan. I never really asked questions about it because I don't frequently call a cab. I normally call a local car service to get to work in the wee hours of the morning when you are more likely to see sketchy people roaming in the streets. Unfortunately I've had a lot of disagreements with the local guys because they are rude when I call and normally cannot give me an ETA. Worst yet they beep the horn and wake up the neighbors. Then I get stressed about having enough cash on hand to pay my cab fare. So I had a great painless experience using Uber. I didn't have to talk to anyone, I knew the name of the person coming, type of car to look for, when they would arrive and how much I would pay. I fee the service is very personalized and safe. They were reasonable compared to taking a yellow cab. I liked being able to get in the care and say "Good Morning Malek, thanks for coming to get me so quickly." Malek and I had a nice conversation in my 10 minute ride and I learned that anyone with a drivers license can become an Uber driver and make a nice income. The best part of this experience was I rode for FREE! I had a coupon for $20 off my first ride and my estimated fare was $15-$21 dollars. If I had paid, that ride would have cost me about $5 bucks more than the local guys but it was a lot less stress. I also received a coupon code to send my friends to get free or discounted rides! (Use my coupon code for your free ride today "angelaw2640ue") Sharing is caring!!! When you download the app we both can earn free rides! Here I thought this was just another expensive black car cab service; boy was I wrong! So let me give you some general information on Uber.
It is a 6 year old international transportation company that started in San Francisco and has been spreading from city to city like wildfires. Uber allows the customer to request a taxi, private car or rideshare from their app which you can download on most smart phones. The app is free to and it will connect you to a driver in minutes based on your GPS location.
You can use Uber in a few easy steps once you have downloaded the app.
First you need to set up a payment method using your credit or debit card or google wallet. Uber runs a cashless operation. Your fare is automatically deducted once you reach your destination. I have read their policy is no tipping because you don't need cash to ride with Uber.
Here are the steps when you are ready to request a ride...
1) login to the app
2) choose the type of service you need (i.e. uberpool, uberx, uberxl, uberblack, or suv, etc.)
3) tap to set pick up location (make sure your GPS is turned on)
4) tap plus sign next to pick up location to enter destination (you may request fare estimate or use promo code at this time)
5) tap request uber...(whatever type of vehicle you had previously selected)
After step 5 you will see cars on the map on the screen closest to your location. Once an Uber driver accepts your request you will receive the name and photo of your driver, make of car and an estimated time of arrival (ETA). Once you have been picked up you and the driver will get the same route so you may follow along from your phone. There is even an option to share your ETA with your friends and family.
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