Ride sharing- Is it the future?

Living in Miami, it’s tough to be without a car. That being said driving in Miami can be stressful. So, when I was in a fender bender that left me car less for 3 weeks, I decided to test out ride sharing to see if it would be for me. I thought, maybe I’ll trade the car in when it’s repaired and just Uber or Lyft anywhere.

So, what did I expect for the next three weeks?

• Worry free parking
• Subsidizing uber with my car insurance payment
• Potentially walking more
• Hands free travel and time to listen to music
• Having a personal driver- Cha-Ching a dream come true

The first week was a little hairy as any change can be. The ride share service I chose sometimes failed to understand where I was. Additionally, there were a few other surprises.

• The drivers were pretty talkative- some were interesting, others were just bored
• Car hygiene was questionable. Some cars had hand sanitizer, others smoke scents.
• The drivers during weekdays seemed confused by addresses and rattled
• Weekend drivers were great- punctual, laid back and overall good vibe.
• Almost all the drivers were guys and several had only been driving for 3 years
• My music time in the car is really important to me

After I learned my way around things such as requesting a ride a few minutes prior, calling them when I thought they might get confused AND just letting someone else take the wheel I realized there were some take-aways I needed to learn.

• If I didn’t want to talk, put on headphones or pretend to look at my phone
• Drivers had interesting stories. Short drives were the best ones to dive into those.
• Ride share during select hours. For instance, if you don’t like to have strangers drive you around at night you might want to consider arriving to your destination a little earlier. Rush hour is a pain whether you drive or someone else does.
• Ride sharing can get pricey if you like to move around a lot.
• There’s a freedom to being carless
• There’s a commitment to ride sharing too

So after 3 weeks, I’m behind the wheel of my car again, trying to find balance. Thinking of going carless? Try it and do let us know what you think.