Uber Strikes Columbia

Usually Columbia is not on the leading edge of things, and Uber is well established Nationally, but it did open in Columbia yesterday morning (July 10, 2014).  As you know it works from an APP on your phone, and you don’t pay the car driver, it auto charges your credit card including tip, if appropriate.  Easy.  A little cheaper than cabs, perhaps and more up to date.

Uber shows you a photo of the car that will pick you up and a photo of the driver, who has been pre-screened for background and safety.  Also you rate each car and driver after you ride, and bad experiences eliminate drivers from the system (they say).  The APP shows you on a moving map the car that will be picking you up, so you know where it is by looking at your phone.

Uber says that soon it will be dispatching these  cars (cars owned by the drivers, but not officially city registered cabs) for pickup within 5 minutes.  Many drivers are part time, but they work in peak hours to give customers better service (theory, anyway).

There’s Uber and UberX  the latter is cheaper, not sure of the exact difference.  One big thing, you can add riders, there’s no up charge for other riders, and split the fare.  But it has to go on one person’s credit card of course. 

The news is your first 5 rides are FREE … but you have to use them by July 24, 2014 (Columbia, SC only)  Cab owners and operators say the insurance is not as up to date as cabs, Uber says it has a $1 million policy on each car being used, no cost to the driver, and no deductible (to driver?).  Check all the details if you are interested, possibly on their website.  The local Uber manager says “response to the new service has been tremendous” (State Paper).    

I have read that Uber might use "demand pricing", so that, in a rain storm in a busy city, they might charge more for a ride than other times.  The company says this motivates drivers to work in rain storms and times they might otherwise slack off.  Riders pay the premium.