WashUber
My seventh alarm goes off at 8:35 a.m. on a crisp Monday morning in October. I savor every last minute of sleep I can get before heading to my 9 a.m. class on the furthest end of campus. Barely awake, I check the clock again after sluggishly getting dressed. It’s 8:50 a.m. Crap. In my sleepy state, I reason that it is too cold outside to walk and call an Uber. The car is five minutes away. It’s a five-minute ride. Six bucks for a cozy delivery to a class I was dreading attending anyways? Worth it. I hop in, no regrets. My Uber driver asks me how my morning is going. “Great!” I respond sheepishly, as I begin to feel guilty for calling an Uber for such an unnecessary occasion. Funnily enough, my Uber driver begins to talk about how he has been avoiding the Wash U area lately since so many students call Ubers for stupidly short rides. I guiltily laugh and apologize for being a part of that pool of students. He laughs and says he understands; it’s early and it is a considerable walking distance. I feel better on the surface, but still something nags at me. Why do so many people call unnecessary Ubers to go such short distances?
My Uber driver on that Monday morning wasn’t the first to tell me of the sometimes intolerable Wash U environment for Uber drivers.
Wash U is a go-to spot for Ubers in St. Louis. With such a concentrated area of young people always going places, most of whom don’t have cars, the convenient app that hails you a car in under ten seconds has become a predominant mode of transportation for students. Some Uber drivers welcome this population, installing karaoke sets in their cars to cater students going out on the weekends, providing free beers to young partiers, or handing out condoms to this especially active population—yes, I have seen all of these amenities in Ubers. Some, however, actively avoid the Wash U bubble. My Uber driver on that Monday morning wasn’t the first to tell me of the sometimes intolerable Wash U environment for Uber drivers. Some avoid it because they refuse to drive around loud college kids going out—who also might end up throwing up on their car—but quite a few have voiced their annoyance with students using Uber to get around campus or the extended “Wash U bubble,” which leads to shorter rides and low payments.
The controversy surrounding short rides is not unique to the Wash U community. UberPeople.net, a popular forum for Uber and similar apps to post tips, comments, and concerns, has entire threads discussing short trips. One thread titled “Short Trips & Tips” features multiple posts from drivers saying it should be common courtesy to tip drivers who accept short fairs. Trips averaging five minutes at normal rates can earn drivers as little as $3.00, which is not worth the time and effort put in by Uber drivers. This number looks especially ridiculous once one accounts for the time it takes drivers to reach pick-up locations, which can take up to twenty minutes. At four times the actual trip distance, these trips can end up being rendered utterly worthless for drivers. In St. Louis, this is a prevalent issue for drivers who get trapped in the Wash U area, leading to multiple short trips with students moving around campus.
Uber does guarantee an hourly rate, providing Minimum Fare supplements for drivers who earn less than the guaranteed amount, given that they meet certain requirements—such as acceptance rate and number of trips per hour. However, drivers who do not meet these requirements may end up with the bare minimum. Uber has no restrictions on trip lengths, giving little leeway to drivers trying to maximize their profits.
This is not to say that you should feel ashamed for calling Ubers to go short distances. Short trips are common and sometimes are welcomed. When it’s late at night and you don’t feel safe walking, Uber is an easy, safer alternative. When you’re tired, running late to class, and it’s cold outside, Uber can be a quick last resort (guilty). Even for drivers, these trips can be appreciated. When business is slow, short trips might be all that drivers can get. Three dollars is better than nothing. Perhaps this is why Uber as a company accepts all fares. It is meant to make transportation easier for all people in all situations, no matter how short their ride length is. I simply urge Uber users, myself included, to think before ordering these quick trips. Do I really need an Uber to go from the clocktower to the Psychology building? In some cases, the answer might be yes. But when you can just as easily walk the distance, why not save yourself and your potential Uber driver from a waste of time and money?