Travel tales - the Uber experience of a Toronto Mami

I read about Uber's revenue model in the latest issue of the Economist, in Uttara's house, and serendipitously ask her about it. She has used the service and we decide to book my airport ride, for my flight to Madrid, through Uber. I love the idea of a broker that auctions the service to the lowest bidder. The result - rates are impacted by volume surges, simple principle of supply and demand. I also like that the service is available at any time of the day or night provided you are willing to pay the price. Why would drivers not show up any time when they get to keep 80% of the fare? Being just a click away on a smart phone, I hear Uber is all the rage everywhere, including with Mylapore mamis in Chennai, India! Why should this Toronto mami be the exception?!!

That the service operates outside the regime of regulation is it's only downside. However, it appears it's benefits far outweigh any associated risks. Uttara and her friends swear by Uber and I decide to take the proverbial leap. I realize with some excitement that I am about to participate in a quiet revolution that is fundamentally altering how we live. An overhaul of the taxi industry is long overdue both for consumers and drivers. The state's role in regulating it, especially in an era of GPS devices, is anachronistic.

It is past midnight and we use an online service called "findacabbie.com" to do the booking. This, I am told, is like Expedia. It searches for and gets you the best cab deal. So the Uber model already has local competitors. My preference is for Uber since the company has branded itself well as a quality service with polite and punctual drivers. Uber's reliance on customer ratings of every ride ensures the use of a dynamic and interactive service model that drives quality and responsiveness. I cannot believe that it was going to cost me just 28 lbs to get to Heathrow from St.John's Woods, a good 50 minutes by road through normal traffic. Contrast this with taking the Heathrow Express, hauling my suitcase up and down stairs and on and off the tube and the express train, not to mention the 7 minute walk to the tube station, at a cumulative monetary cost of 20 lbs, in addition to the wear and tear sustained by my middle-aged body. Contrast this also with the marked black cab, which would have cost me well over a 100 lbs, burning a hole in my pocket book

It's 11 a.m. and my car is due any minute. Since old habits die hard I wait with some trepidation. It all seems too good to be true. I am told via Uttara's mobile that I am to look out for a silver Mercedes. It's all very surreptitious. Finally, after what seems like an aeon, I see the car. It has no visible signs of a cab. Uttara, who is at her office, tracks its approach on her phone and confirms. It is just five minutes late. The driver is a young Bangladeshi with a British accent. I ask him about his Uber experience. He says to me that he straddles both worlds. He extols the virtues of using a local cab company and picks that as his personal preference. I sense that he quietly drives for Uber to get on the bandwagon, where to fully resist would mean watching his business being cannibalised. But he is loyal to his roots - at least for the time being. London city has 5000 Uber drivers with several being added everyday. This wave may even give public transit here a moment of pause. For eg, why would anyone ride the Heathrow Express?! As usual I engage in chit chat and find out that he has jam packed days with rides from these "private deals" He has invested in land and a business spawning fish eggs in Bangladesh. He does well on his income supporting his wife, two children and with a chronically ill father. We arrive at Heathrow and I hand him 30 lbs. He carries my bag to the curb and reaches into his pocket for change - I ask him to keep the 2 lbs still filled with disbelief over the amazing value for money this experience has been! It was indeed an Uber special experience!