New York taxi, 2006

four things i have learned since uber’s arrival in glasgow;

Updated 29/01: My post about my decision to delete my Uber account, which is very similar to the message I sent to Uber, is now live containing a copy of Uber’s response.

Updated 29/01: I’ll be deleting my Uber account later today in response to reports from New York that, by removing surge pricing during a strike by yellow cab drivers in solidarity with travel ban protests at JFK Airport, Uber sought to profit from President Trump’s immoral – and unlawful – executive order, as well as Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s membership of the president’s business advisory council.

I’ll be posting more about this later, but in the meantime have removed all affiliate links from this post.

I would have been pretty indifferent to the arrival of “controversial taxi app” Uber (I believe that’s it’s full title – it’s certainly how it always appears) in Glasgow were it not for the problems I’ve been having getting taxis in town lately.

Controversial Uber taxi app launches in Glasgow
…seriously.

You see, I take a lot of taxis. I’m not proud of it but when you: a) don’t drive; b) work long hours; c) review gigs and have to file copy the same night; d) struggle with exhaustion; e) can get a bus into the city centre – or, for some reason, East Kilbride – and that’s it it’s a fact of life. After a string of missed doctor’s appointments by virtue of the fact that my usual taxi company takes half an hour to send one in the morning, I was ready for an alternative. Any alternative. But I live on a brand new housing estate, so it’s the one company or a hack for twice the price.

So when Uber arrived in its first Scottish city last week, I was eager to give it a go. I downloaded the app – and, for the first couple of days, couldn’t see a car anywhere near me any time I checked. Which I did frequently, as much for curiosity as anything else. Unlike traditional taxi companies, Uber dispatches the closest car to you when you request a ride. Until then, you can watch them puttering about the app like oversized white beetles over a miniature map of your city.

Those teething problems addressed – there are, I have been told, about 90 Uber drivers in the city now, and every single one of them is desperate to pick your brains about the service as soon as you get in the car – I’ve used Uber a handful of times since the launch. Here is what I have learned so far.

New York taxi, 2006
For some reason I have no stock photos of Hampden Cabs, so this one will have to do…

1. UBER DRIVERS AND CARS IN GLASGOW ARE LICENSED IN THE SAME WAY AS ALL OTHER PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES
I’d heard the horror stories about Uber, about the unlicensed drivers and the allegations of sexual assault – and so, it seems, had plenty of my friends. But there is a difference between UberPOP – the peer-to-peer ride-sharing version of the service that has been banned in France and other European countries due to concerns over safety and liability – and UberX, which uses only licensed drivers. You’re generally as safe getting into an Uber vehicle in Glasgow as you are any other licensed private hire or black cab, albeit without the additional protection of having a company to complain to.

2. THE ARRIVAL TIME ESTIMATES IN THE APP ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED
When you open the app, you’re given a rough estimate of the time it will take until your Uber driver arrives to pick you up. I have no idea on what they base these estimates, as they have not yet been close any time I have used it. Although you will be able to track where your driver is the app will not, for example, tell you if your driver has popped into McDonald’s on the way (yes, this actually happened).

3. THERE ARE NO WORDS FOR HOW CONVENIENT IT IS NOT TO HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HAVING ENOUGH CASH ON YOU…
Seriously.

…BUT THE PRICING ISN’T ALL THAT TRANSPARENT.
While it’s true you can get an estimate fare before you book your ride, the accuracy of this will depend on the route your driver takes and how busy the roads are. Fares are broken down into three parts: a base rate, a portion based on distance and a much smaller portion based on time – but it’s a portion that can still make about £1’s worth of difference if you’re heading into town in the middle of Saturday night’s traffic. And you won’t know your final fare until the driver says you have left the vehicle – and I’ve yet to figure out how to query it with the driver so any tips please do let me know!

Mount of Olives taxi service
…although I also found this picture of a “taxi” on the Mount of Olives.

4. IT’S GREAT FOR DRIVERS…
Every Uber driver I have had to date has raved about their new “employer”, to which they pay 20% of every fare collected rather than the complex system of vehicle hire and/or fees that applies if you are driving for a company. One driver in particular, who had nine years of experience driving with firms, told me that he’d lost the majority of his wrinkles since he began working for himself and expected to have lost the rest by the end of the week. And apparently there’s a £500 bonus in it if they complete a certain number of journeys, and keep their driver rating above a certain level, in their first month.

…BUT THE INCUMBENTS REMAIN CATEGORICALLY UNBOTHERED.
“It’ll never take off,” a Hampden Cabs driver told me when he picked me up on Saturday night. “The drivers get to review the passengers too. Can you imagine how that will go down in Glasgow? If we actually told you what went on in the back of taxis?”

As for me, I’d logged on to Uber only to see that their “surge” pricing, which kicks in during periods of high demand to encourage more drivers to get out on the road, had as good as doubled my fare and my traditional private hire arrived before I was even done at the cash machine. So I couldn’t really argue back.