Prior to the pandemics, I almost gave up driving. Instead, I rely entirely on Uber. Uber would be my preferred method of transportation to work. Uber would be my preferred method of transportation to the airport. If I was in a large or mid-sized city, I wouldn’t rent a car but would instead ride Uber. Uber was a great option. I paid a ridiculous amount each month but felt it worth the expense. Each week, I was able recover time that I could use for work.
My Uber use plummeted to zero during the pandemic. My Diamond status was not lost as I continued to use Uber Eats for delivery. I haven’t ridden in a rideshare since the summer of 2021. My usage wasn’t as high because I had nowhere to go.
Recenty, I found myself resurrected in a post pandemic world. Uber is becoming increasingly difficult to trust. I’m not always able find rides. And when I can the fare prices go up, it is almost impossible to get a ride. In the past, for example, it cost me $35 to get to the airport in rush hour and I would have to wait approximately 5 minutes. Uber said that I would pay $150 for a taxi to the airport this morning. There was a wait of approximately 17 minutes. It is impossible to predict when a driver will show up. I decided to drive to the airport myself. I had been in Dallas a few weeks before. Uber was easily available from DFW to the hotel for me at 10:00 PM. The next morning I had to get an Uber for about three miles to go to breakfast. I paid $80 for the ride and was able to take it almost fifteen minutes.
Uber is not a viable option for me. It’s not something that I can depend on. The Uber business model may not have been sustainable. The combination of rising fuel prices and a pandemic may have accelerated rideshare’s decline. We may never know. But I’m going to go back to renting and driving cars.