Ride Share

I used a ride share for the first time yesterday. Which one I used and why I used it is not important. The point is, ride share totally rocks! Oh my goodness, the difference between ride share and paratransit is night and day!! Maybe my experience yesterday is not typical, but I think it is.

The pro's of ride share:
My rides arrived less than five minutes after I requested each trip.
I knew the names of the drivers, and the makes of the vehicles.
I was able to view in the app where the drivers were, and approximate arrival times that were highly accurate.
I was able to communicate with the drivers by either text or call.
My drivers were respectful and drove carefully on the wet roads. 
Obviously I was taken directly to my destination and driven directly home. No thirty minute windows, no hurry up and wait, no picking up and dropping off other passengers, no "tours of Austin" like with paratransit. I simply was able to go where I wanted and get home almost as quickly as if I was driving myself. I cannot tell you how freaking awesome that was! I am in love with ride share! It opens up a world of possibilities for someone like me. I could actually get around the city quickly and easily and hassle-free. It would make my life so much easier. No more five hour adventures in order to attend a one hour or ninety minute book signing or open mic nite or other event that I want to attend. No more worry that I will have to get an event way early or have to wait thirty to forty five minutes after an event for my ride to arrive. The stress, anxiety, frustration, and fatigue of my current transportation situation would be virtually eliminated. Oh. My. Heavens.

There's only one con to ride share, but of course, it's a biggie. Cost. My ride share trips were likely cheaper than cabs, but would obviously be too expensive to use on a daily basis. With Metro Access, I pay $46.50 per month for a pass that allows me unlimited rides. That is more than a decent price. It's actually an excellent price, especially considering that I work five days a week and often use the service on the weekends as well. I would not be able to afford ride share every day.

However, now that I see how safe and reliable ride share is, I do plan to use it on a limited basis for special occasions, like the book signings or other events around the city that I want to attend. Especially if I am particularly tired or short on time and don't want to deal with the hours that it takes to get places on Metro Access.

My great wish / dream at this point would be if Metro Access would consider partnering with a ride share to allow passengers like me more options when it comes to transportation. Other cities have developed such partnerships, where riders can buy into a system that would provide discounted ride share trips. Capital Metro had something similar for a few years with Yellow Cab. The program was called Access- a-Ride. Metro Access clients could get a stored valued card where they paid up to $20 and Capital Metro donated up to $80. Then we could call a cab any time we wanted and receive same day service and direct trips to and from our destination. It was great. The drawback? The fares were outrageous. Prices started at $12 and increased from there. They gouged us, basically. A fair system with a ride share would be my absolute dream. The other problem with ride shares is that some of them do not offer accessible vehicles, and the phone apps are not accessible to people who are visually impaired. So ride shares have work they need to do to make their services accessible. I hope they realize what a game changer their services can be to the disability community, and with some work on their part, they could tap into a profitable market - persons who desperately need safe, reliable, AND direct transportation services at an affordable cost.

librarianintx