I've used Uber in Scottsdale, Chicago and San Francisco. Fantastic service and everytime I'm standing around or battling for a cab I lament the fact that Calgary is in the stone age.
Normally I walk, take the bus or grab a Car2Go after work as I live centrally. Today I decided that I was going to try out and support Uber Calgary. I logged on as I was finishing up at work and moved the pin locater to my location around the corner from my office. I clicked the Request UberX and within about 20 seconds, was advised that my driver was on his way and his ETA was 11 minutes. I ended up waiting approximately 20-25 minutes because the traffic downtown was terrible (some idiot got in an accident with the c-train). The ETA didn't update very well but I could see my driver's location in the app. At about the 15-17 minute mark, the Uber driver called me to apologize for the delay and advised me that he was still en route if I still needed him. He rolled up in his Mazda 3 (clean, well maintained, etc) and did a great job.
Uber Driver's story: he's a mechanical engineer that is going to try to supplement his income on weekends and during the Christmas party season. He finished his shift at work and turned on his Uber app (after receiving texts and emails from Uber Calgary asking that all drivers get online to help make the launch successful). He said within 10 seconds, my request came up and he accepted. I was his first Uber fare and he was nervous that the City would be doing sting operations. He did say that Uber assured their drivers that they would cover any bylaw fines (kinda like Car2Go covers stupid downtown parking tickets).
Was it perfect? No, but it was the first day and it'll get better (just like it has in other cities). Will I use it again? I will never ever use a traditional cab again.
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