Is Talking Compulsory (and other things you wish you could ask your Uber Driver)?

• 1998 – Don’t get in Stranger’s Cars. Don’t Meet People from The Internet
• 2016 – Literally Summon Strangers from the Internet to get in their Car.*

Looking at my bank statement you would think Uber was my third child so I thought it was time to shine the headlights on these strangers in whom we trust.

• Does my Uber Driver Like Me?

Not sure if your chat is strong enough? Always wondered if your driver’s offer of a mint means your breath is less than social? There is an easy way to find out – check your rating. Yes, my friend, you are being silently judged and therefore there is some logic in my husband and I sharing a bank account but not an Uber Account. So if you want to get your rating follow these easy steps:

1. Open your Uber App
2. Click Help in top-left menu
3. Click Account & Payments in ‘How Can We Help Page’
4. Click Account Settings & Ratings
5. Click ‘I’d like to know my rating’

(I got 4.7* which I think goes some way to validating that mint paranoia).

• Is Surge Pricing a bit of a fix?

True Story. Last Saturday heading from one venue to the next my husband orders an Uber and the dreaded 1.4 x surge pricing warning pinged up – Nightmare (#firstworldproblem). Before trying to even work out if we were thirsty enough to justify a surge – legit 20 seconds later – I try from my phone; No surge pricing. What skulduggery and nonsense is this? I approached Uber for comment but at the time of press have not yet responded. Moral of the story? If you get hit with the surge try from someone else’s phone – might save you a few dollars (especially if it goes on their account….).

• Are you Annoying?

The short answer is probably. According to the Huffington Post in 7 Things That Annoy Your Uber Driver http://huff.to/2fyTkbK not talking isn’t a deal breaker, but there are a few other things you may be guilty of. If – like me – you rather haphazardly give your driver a star rating (Mmmm – was he the one who got lost? or the one quite chuffed with his basket of complimentary bottles of water?) he/she could get in trouble.  ‘Business Insider reported that drivers run the risk of having their account deactivated if they fall below a 4.7 * rating’. As a routine 4-star kind of rater that made me feel bad. Then there is the Tip Factor – we are meant to but most of us don’t. When ‘The Rideshare Guy asked Uber drivers for the number one thing Uber could do to improve drivers’ experience ..the majority of the top comments advocated for tipping options’. Whoops. Also don’t leave the poor stranger waiting – unlike taxis – they only start charging from the time you put your non-talking, 4 star-rating, lame-tipping bottom on the seat.

• Are Ubers Dangerous? 

The press & the politicians would have us believe its a big, bad world out there and so it could be assumed that courting with strangers could bring us to some untold harm. There are many online reports of various alleged assaults, sexual assaults and even deaths involving Uber Drivers (from ‘reliable’ sources such as www.truthaboutuber.com). That said the same could be said for taxi drivers and strangely there is little data that can tell us who is the lesser of the 2 evils. In an article on www.theatlantic.com they discovered that “There’s no way to search for that,” said Neva Coakley, a spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department. “We wouldn’t be able to speak to that because we don’t have data to support it. We don’t distinguish between what type of suspects they are.” In other words, Boston doesn’t track assaults by where they happen—in a taxi, in an Uber, or in someone’s home—so there’s no data to compare reports against Uber drivers versus taxi drivers or limo drivers.

And as we know guys – everything from Glucose to Gluten can kill us these days. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

• Is Uber the New Tinder or Bumble or Happn? (cause I am so down with the young people and know this is not a typo).

I know it’s a stretch (and I am not talking a limo ’cause I am strictly an Uber X kind of girl) but word on the street is that there is a fair amount of propositioning and hooking up going down via this transportation route. I do know personally a few friends who have invited their drivers home for a drink and some ‘conversation’. I am a happily married woman so am not even a teeny, weeny bit disappointed never to have been propositioned with much more than a bottle of water and a mentos. That said it brings a warm glow to my heart to know that some people are not only saving some of their well earned dosh but also getting a bit more than just a pick up and a friendly ride home.

This Get Richer Tip was brought to you by someone who is not sure if Uber actually saves her money as she spends twice as much as she used to on cabs. #falseeconomy

*@carols10cents