There used to be a time when using Uber was cheap. There used to be promotions and discounts and life was very easy. But now Uber has become really expensive. So expensive, that it hurts when you add up the total expense. The pool sharing has become very tedious as well, as it takes a lot of time for even a very small distance. Surges are now very common. Here in Gurgaon, whenever it rains there is a traffic disturbance and the Uber prices go very high. The surges are very common during festivals as well. I have paid as much as three times the normal during the festivals. These surges are very common in mornings as well. All of these factors add a lot of unnecessary dependencies. Either you have to wait for the surge to go down or adjust yourself according to the situation. I am so fearful of the rains these days that whenever the sky is dark, I book an uber immediately and leave everything behind to get to my home, else an easy wait time of a couple of hours for things to be normal – the rain and the surge.

There are many other problems as well. The drivers sometimes create a lot of nonsense. The whole followup and guiding them to lead to the pickup point is so cumbersome. They sometimes do not follow the exact directions and blame their GPS is not working or something else. Some are very finicky about the wait time. They won’t listen at all. Some do not follow the trip directions very well and some follow it so strictly that they do not take any suggestions. Then there are behavioral problems with drivers as well. Last week my friend dropped his phone on a ride and when he asked the driver to return it, he said that he had driven very far off and it was impossible to return it. There were many follow-ups but the driver never agreed to come anywhere near my friend’s location.  One of my colleagues lost his traveling bag the same way. Sometimes it is really hard settling an overcharge. There is no proper customer support to listen to your queries. You raise a concern and if those people are not satisfied with your reasons they will not settle the amount. I, very often, come across this issue. Uber is least concerned about these things, I guess.

All of these things are making the experience little too difficult to consider Uber an option. I feel helpless. I do not own a vehicle. Options are limited. So, I am totally dependent on Uber. That is what Uber always wanted you to be. So dependent and helpless, that you can not do anything. I used to think Uber was always a better option than owning a car and adding to already such a messy and massive traffic. But the burn it is leaving behind in my pockets is totally refuting my concepts. A few months back, it seemed I was saving a lot with Uber. But the base price has gone up a lot and there is hardly any saving. I spent Rs. 2500 in the week ending 26th Aug and that is quite a lot. I think I will have to think of an alternative. Maybe I need to buy a car.