Uber provides chance for interesting conversation

Andrew Sandoval
Mesa Legend

Andrew SandavolToday I find we don’t have a lot of time to just sit down and have a conversation. Most of us are too busy running around town like a chicken with its head cut off. To consumed with the difficulties of our own lives to stop and listen to the experience of others. The past few weeks of school have been interesting for me. I have been carless since the middle of summer and have been relying on Uber to get me around the town. Compare the cost of Uber to any other type of transportation service, and bet their prices have them beat. I live about thirty minutes from the MCC campus and don’t have a lot of people willing to give me rides every day.

uber_ride_bogota_10277864666So I’ve had to rely on this service to get me to school. It’s about twenty five dollars each way, prices stay pretty constant and compared to taxis it’s a god send. The most interesting thing for me when riding with Uber is the drivers themselves. The drivers I get vary in a broad spectrum of personalities. Of course I don’t know all their names but I know their stories. What Uber is teaching me almost better than any other interaction with people that I have had in life so far.
I met a retired pro soccer player that just got back from watching the Olympics in Rio. He told me about his daughter who went to my dream school and how I should continue to follow my own dreams just like her. This thirty minute exchange with a stranger reinforced my confidence in myself.

Now they aren’t all winners, one time a guy picked my from campus and the first thing he said was some comment about a female students behind. Not a great introduction but at least I got home safely. I find it interesting that most Uber drivers work for lyft and other driving services but only run the Uber app, claiming that it provides enough for what they need to pay the bills and then some. Some drivers have quoted me at making $900 per week working full time. That’s great money I can see why so many of them have a laid back attitude. Uber is a phenomenon in my opinion it’s something that is going to steadily replace taxis and shuttle services over time. I defiantly wouldn’t mind driving around to make extra cash.

I’ve met retired pilots, former truck drivers and a few big business men. That either quit their job or moved on to Uber in order to pay their bills. Some just do it for side money on top of their career. It’s almost like these past couple weeks have been a big lesson for me to see that everyone around me has a story to tell. When you can empathize with a person I think it makes you more complete person, when you can do that with strangers and people that you have no emotional investment in, It makes you a better person, showing that you can care when you don’t have to is what being human is all about.Pretty cool that is was rides in Uber cars that reminded me of this fact.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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