Have Women Here Used Ride Shares Like Uber, Do You Feel Safe in Someone's Private Car?

SeaBreeze

SeaBreeze

Endlessly Groovin'
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USA
I don't have a smartphone or use these ride share apps, if I ever did need a ride though, I'd call an established taxi cab company in my area. When I first heard of Uber, I thought that it would just be like getting into a strangers personal car and trusting him to get you where you were going.

I did do some hitchhiking in my teen years, and luckily never had a bad experience....but now that I'm older and wiser and won't go into a stranger's vehicle, have seen too many horror stories on the news of assault and even murder. I used to pick up hitchhikers too back in the day, but I promised my husband I wouldn't do that any more years ago. I always feel sorry for the person and want to help, but some good Samaritans unfortunately are punished for their good deeds. I choose not to be a victim if possible.

I've read in the news about assaults on women in these ride share vehicles, even by drivers who passed a background check. They were just talking about this yesterday on a local TV show.

Do the ladies here use these ride share apps, and do you feel safe getting into those people's vehicles? Have you ever had a bad experience in one of them while getting a ride somewhere?
 

My daughter was driving for Uber and Lyft recently and her female customers loved her because they always felt safe. One of our local hospitals was calling her instead of cabs for female patients for the same reason. Unfortunately,there just weren`t enough calls in our small county for it to be worth her while,so she went back to her old job. I do know a woman who lives in Auburn,CA and drives all the way down to San Francisco on weekends and drives for Uber. I`m sure it`s worth her while down there but I would be pretty nervous about doing that there! She has three little kiddos at home.
 
In my very limited use of Uber, I've been favorably impressed. The drivers have all been polite and knowledgeable, and very good drivers. The vehicles were clean and comfortable.

I wonder what the statistics are on crime committed by the drivers of these vehicles, vs. those committed by cab drivers, for instance?
 

I drive myself wherever I need to go, but I wouldn't hesitate to call Uber if I needed to. I'd be more worried to be the Uber driver than a passenger in these crazy times.
 
Here in the Uk many cities have revoked the licence of Uber completely after it was found to be badly regulated and there were severe Data breaches . Transport for London became very concerned about Uber's approach to reporting criminal offences , and protecting drivers who'd committed offences.. They can continue to make appeals until their licence completely runs out in September, but unless they make huge changes in their operating system, they will be history.
 
I've only had one unpleasant Uber experience. The guy was too chatty/inquisitive, he stopped at the drive thru of KFC and was eating and smelling up the car, he made some comment about me maybe cooking for him and inviting him over :rolleyes: , and as he dropped me off he said he was gonna sit outside across street and finish his meal. I did not need this guy sitting outside my residence for ANY reason. He creeped me out. I immediately reported him and relayed everything he had done and said I NEVER want to see him again. I got an immediate reply - they apologized, said they would investigate and determine if his access should be cut off, and my fare was refunded. (Of course a tip was out of the question...nada...zip...zero)

However, all other experiences have been positive. I've had some female drivers, but most are male.

I recommended Uber to a friend who has used Uber to/from airport and also after her car was damaged in an accident. She loves Uber, no complaints.
 
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I've never used Uber, but thought I might sometime. I never thought of the dangers. I won't now. My town only has one taxi service so if I ever need a ride again, I'll stick with them.

Although I have to add, a few years ago I needed the taxi to take me home from the hospital. Went I got in, the driver passed a clipboard with a chart on it and as he began driving he told me to fill out the time and place he picked me up. I pushed it back forward to him, told him I didn't know how or something like that. I'm still laughing about it.
 
Boston has had some really bad reports of Uber drivers assaulting female passengers. It's been on the local news frequently and is troubling to hear. Although Uber sounds like it could be a good idea, it isn't up here. No, I would not use a Uber. I'd go with a reputable cab company if I couldn't drive there myself.
 
I'm with Chic. I feel more confident with the tried and and true. Anything can happen anytime, but for women it's a little more dicey. I don't believe at all that those new Uber and Lyft companies do enough background checks. If I could be guaranteed a women driver, maybe then. But I also don't have a smartphone.
 
hmmm.

Well, I find that taxicabs are usually SMELLY (not sure if it's BO from the driver...ugh..., other riders, or maybe the cars should be cleaned more regularly. they often have a stale smell.)

Also, I've had a few problems in cabs. Couple yrs ago a driver got out to open my door, and he reached for me, came too close, and said "I need a hug". WTH?! :confused: :rolleyes: I quickly stepped back and walked away, giving him a nasty look. Maybe some women are into that crap but I don't play those games. I'm in a large city and this was a large popular taxi company. I called and complained but never heard anything back.

Some of the smaller cab companies seem 'sketchy'.
 
Just this morning on the news they announced that an Uber driver in San Francisco who disappeared last year while on a call and was later found mrdered,was positively identified. The suspect is believed to have run to Cambodia (?) and authorities have not been able to locate him. So yes,much scarier for the drivers,I think.

By the way,I thought my daughter had quit doing Uber but yesterday she went to "the big city",90 minutes from us,to return some Christmas gifts,and decided to turn her Uber appon. Within minutes,she had a request from a nurse to be picked up from the hospital and driven home and then from someone named "Shea" who was in the small town where my daughter Shea works. She was sure she was going to be picking up her own sister lol. Turned out to be another "Shea",who was shocked, as she said she had never met another Shea,spelled the same. As my daughter dropped her off,she smiled,waved and said "Say hi to your sister Shea for me lol!"
 
I still drive. I wouldn't use uber because I would not get into a car with a stranger. The kind of work I did caused me to see a lot of the awful things people do to one another, some of them caused by getting into a car with someone the victim didn't really know. I would not do that any more than I would go to a poorly lit ATM machine at night on foot in a "bad" area of town. Just not worth the risk.
 
if I ever did need a ride though, I'd call an established taxi cab company

Are you suggesting that Uber is not an established company?

My son is a licensed cab driver in Sydney, Australia, where the regulation are just as strict as any comparable US city.

He is also a Uber driver. It's just another way for customers to contact him.

Most women have no hesitation about getting into the front seat, let alone the cab!
 
I've used Uber a few times. I even had my own personal Uber driver for a couple of trips. She was a retired dentist and wanted to make some extra money. We had a very friendly relationship right from the jump. She even brought me back from a roundtrip without charging for the return trip. I've also had male drivers. All the drivers were nice. I feel relatively safe because Uber sends you a picture of your driver with his or her name, the car and license plate #. They usually come within a couple of minutes. During my first ride, I let the driver hear me tell my son "I'm taking Uber and texting you the information." Turns out that wasn't really necessary. I wound up getting a free ride from northern N.J. to N.Y. due to an error in my billing and they said the driver took a longer route than necessary. I'd take Uber before calling a cab any day. Uber drivers get rated and look to do a good job. Often the cab drivers take too long to come, a couple claimed they couldn't find the address, even with clear instructions and/or are rude. Often in my city, there's a language barrier. We now have the hailing a cab system like in N.Y. I would never do that because then you really don't know who's car you're getting into. I started a Lyft account but haven't used it yet.
 
I don't feel comfortable using Uber. I have heard too many bad reports about them here locally. I will be using a service that is paid membership only. It is an affiliate of ITNAmerica. This company comes with good reviews so I hope it works out for me.
 

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