UBER Leeds

I first used an UBER in San Francisco, and as with a lot of things there, it seemed light years ahead of what we have in Yorkshire. My friend got her smart phone out, hit a button on a slick app, and we watched the car arrive on a map in real time. Then there it was — this huge, shining beast of a vehicle, complete with free bottles of water for us as we drove to our destination.
Five years on and they’ve finally come to Leeds! I can’t tell you how excited I was for this to happen. It seems ludicrous that it’s taken so long for a taxi firm to establish here that not only uses a smart phone app for ordering (yeah yeah, I know Amber has one) but takes card payments. See, that’s the main draw for me – I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve had to miss a train or arrive late because I had to visit a cash machine en route. Ridiculous!
Not any more. Thanks UBER.
Obviously, it’s not all roses, but it mostly is. Maybe 5−10% of drivers have been not up to scratch — either failing to see me for pick up (and basically telling me that it was my fault even though the pin was correct) or driving recklessly. But none were so bad that I rated them (on their app) below 3 stars. Most of the drivers have been a pleasure — taking care to make sure I don’t slip on ice, discussing the fastest route, and so on. I do find it a bit cloying that they all ask me if I’ve ever had an UBER before, now. (At first it was new, it got old fast.)
Either way, I’ve not had even close to the number of disappointing journeys/​drivers as I’ve had with every single other taxi company in Leeds. It’s simply not worth booking with anyone else — in terms of both cash and time. The only down sides are that there are certain times and areas where cars are just not available (6am for an early train is tricky, as is anywhere not in LS6 or LS1/​LS2 at the moment) and of course, the inflated prices at high demand times really are a wallet puncher. At moments like those I’ll just suck it up and get a City Cab or something.
So! There might not be the free water and Californian sun with your UBER in Leeds, but there will be solid, kind drivers for the most part, and a cheaper journey than almost every other company. I mean, once I got back from town for £3.50. There were two of us in the car, which made it CHEAPER THAN THE BUS. Insane. Srsly. There’s no reason not to download the app and at least have it handy.
Hooray UBER!