Had an Uber ride from BNE to home this morning. I chose to go with an XL. My reasons are 1. Generally speaking you get a larger car (we had baggage) 2. I don’t like the randomness of the Uber X. You can get someone in a Mazda 2 :-(
In any event including bridge toll and airport access fees the fare was about $88.00. Still cheaper than a taxi. What I am beginning to see is this ( and please don’t judge my observations).
1. The people who once were taxi drivers (new migrants from South Asia and Middle East) are now increasingly driving Uber.
My beef is that as recent migrants they have a number of bad (driving) habits learned in their home country. And old habits die hard!
2. The standard of cleanliness is beginning to fall with “some” drivers and their cars.
3. The enthusiasm that once identified an Uber driver is waning with “some” (see point one above)
So specifically today my grumbles are as follows: the car wasn’t as clean as it needed to be, in fact it was quite dirty, if we had ordered the ride late afternoon instead of early morning, I might have given leeway on this.
We drove through a vigorous thunderstorm, the windscreen wipers were woefully inadequate for the conditions.
The driver while not offensive in his manner was sloppy in his appearance, and attire, I don’t expect a peaked so and black and white uniform, but scruffy trousers and rubber thongs don’t do it for me.
He drove a Hyundai Diesel SUV. I considered buying one once. But this relatively new car was uncomfortable and didn’t ride well ( but part of that is possibly down to his slightly jerky driving style) .
I remember when my Dad taught me to drive, he gave me a few very important pieces of advice 1. Accerate as if you have a fresh egg between your foot and gas peddle. 2. Lift your foot (off the gas) a long way ahead of your need to break. 3 always be driving with a view on the road further ahead of where you are.
I’m sure there were other pearls of wisdom in there as well.
Now I don’t say I adhere 100% to those pieces of advice myself 100% of the time. However as a result, I have become less tolerant of drivers who accurate heavily, and speed right up to an intersection where they see they will need to stop, and then brake heavily.
The last criticism I have is more personal, and that is the heavy use of aftershave and or deodorizers inside the cabin. Too much for mrs GPH who suffers from an allergic reaction to many fragrances, she ended the 40 minute drive with a headache.
The irony here is that I still prefer this (Uber) to the taxi alternative.
We also asked that the distinctly middle eastern music be turned right down or off altogether, again, a personal issue.
It does occur to me though, as I rarely use Uber to get to and from an airport, I may (when necessary) spring a few extra $$ and book a limousine service. I’m too old to place price ahead of value.
I find that we have become (in some areas) obsessed with price, and overlook value).
I suppose that’s why do many of us here prefer to drink a quality wine vs a cheap one ?!
That’s my latest experience.
