To Uber is Divine

My son’s tennis bag, with a racquet conspicuously tucked away was the conversation starter always. On a recent trip to the Indian Wells ATP Tournament, I decided to forgo the freedom of a rental car and took a cab to the hotel. And then we ‘ubered’ away for the rest of our trip. My Word editor is slightly behind, but I feel a certain joy when I use this new verb – to uber.

If you are an Uber driver, you have your regular job and then there is the Uber job. You can wish your Uber job in and out, timing it perfectly or going the extra mile to make that extra buck. The bounty comes in surges. You get to meet a medley of interesting people. And your time with that unpleasant customer is only a short drop away.

And if you are an Uber passenger it gets even more interesting. The assortment of drivers perks you up every time. For us, the conversation started with tennis. What followed was anywhere from stock trading, to handy-manning, to real estate and software. My favorite was the army veteran who had interesting stories about Bombay before it became Mumbai, converting his currency then and now in $100. He felt richer that way he said. We got lucky with reaching our destination every time before the topic got to Donald Trump. For the woman in me who was looking for a gender balance, along came the young lady, a Hyatt employee in her non-Uber life.

Overall the Uber choice cost us $135 for 2 days, 6 rides and 75 miles. Between slightly over $1/mile and $4/mile surge time (it could go to 7.5x), neither cabs nor a 2day car rental with gas could come anywhere close.

I cannot dismiss my brother’s standup segment on the astute Indian Uber drivers. Between devising ways to count cash without spinning the wheels and working uncannily in a mysterious inter-uber network of drivers, they are out to give Uber a run for its money.

Everything else (safety) remaining the same (cabs), even cab drivers can join this all-inclusive disruption. It will find itself a more sustainable model worldwide. If I don’t become an Uber driver soon, I will definitely uber more often.