Let me tell you a few of my own stories...
Let me give you a bit of context. Since I don't live near a tube station, the urge to take an Uber home any time I've had a night out is always overwhelming.
My salary pretty much goes on living, food, holidays and Ubers. (In fact, I managed to combine travel and Uber last summer by getting an Uber boat in Croatia.)
So, it makes sense that I tried to curb my taxi spending by acquainting myself with the car-sharing option Uberpool.
At first, I really didn't know what to expect. Would I arrive and people would already be inside the car? Would I be the only person who didn't know anyone? Would I have to sit next to the driver? So many questions. But, f*ck it, I thought - and I clicked the option. (It was £10 cheaper after all.)
Round one, the Uber arrived and I was heading from South London to North, and found myself pleasantly on my own for 2/3 of the journey until we picked up a couple at London Bridge. Merry on the Friday night atmosphere, they at first forgot they'd ordered an Uberpool and were surprised by my presence. I then felt bad that I'd separated a couple (the girlfriend next to me and the boyfriend in front) but it didn't take long for us to compare nights, and 15 minutes in, I found myself inviting them to the house party I was headed to. They played with the idea but politely declined - which was a relief as I wasn't quite sure how I was going to explain that one...
My second Uber was perhaps the oddest. Leaving The Ned, I hopped into the car, which already had a passenger in the back, and played on my phone. I was tired after a long day at work followed by drinks, so was half tempted to plug my headphones in and be outwardly anti-social - but then I got a call. When I got off the phone, the person next to me asked if I was Delphine from Marie Claire. 'Yes!' I said half intrigued, half worried. Turns out, he was a PR I'd been messaging for years but had never met so then we spent the rest of the journey talking about mutual friends and work. Who knew an Uberpool could moonlight as an informal work meeting!?
And, I even had one car journey where I was completely on my own, bar a pair of keys that had to be transported somewhere else after me - so hey, next time you find yourself hovering over the Uberpool option, maybe you should try it?
