News

Ask Matt ... about Uber

By Matt Matteson, Published: January 15, 2016

Q. Is Uber coming to Hendersonville?

It’s already here! Well, OK it’s here in Henderson County, but not downtown Hendersonville. Uber’s website for the Asheville area shows the driver service extending only as far as Fletcher and Mills River. For those who are unfamiliar with the newest mode of affordable transportation, Uber employs regular people who moonlight as taxi drivers using their own vehicles. So you need a ride somewhere? Just pull out your smart phone, pull up the Uber map, and check to see if there is a nearby driver. A couple of taps and you’ve got a car on the way. You can even see what the driver looks like and check his or her rating before you hop into the car. Upon arrival at your destination, you pay the driver by swiping your credit card on a cell phone attachment and you get an emailed receipt. It’s that easy. You save a bundle and the driver makes a little on the side. Uber claims to be 40 percent cheaper than conventional taxi fares and Uber does not allow tipping.
I took the plunge and downloaded the free Uber app to my cell phone. The fare from downtown Hendersonville to the Asheville Airport rang up to about $25 but phone detected no Uber drivers in downtown Hendersonville. Undaunted, I went on a mission to find active Uber drivers near the Ashville Airport. On the first try I found four Uber drivers in the vicinity. It’s kind of spooky looking at a map on your phone and seeing tiny little moving cars ready to pick you up when you tap in. It quickly struck me that there are no secrets with Uber. Heck, there could be Uber drivers lurking in my own neighborhood.
But you won’t see them parked on airport property waiting for fares. Airport’s annual permit fee is $300 per vehicle, which may be prohibitive for part-time Uber drivers, not to mention several pages of rules for airport ground transportation operators. And yes, there is even a dress code for taxi and limo drivers.
My next step was to talk to real people who use Uber. I easily found Jason who works at the Asheville Mall. When he travels he calls Uber to save money on airport parking fees. Alessandra, a UNCA student, said she last used Uber on a cold night downtown when her friends didn’t want to wait an hour for the campus shuttle. That ride cost a mere $7 for the entire carload. Briana, a UNC-A sophomore was high on Uber. She said most of the drivers were over 40 and easy to talk to. I also learned that kids who use Uber for airport transportation help drivers evade detection by jumping in the front seat. This was not a concern because the student already has a picture of the driver on their cell phone. I am told that for college students one of the busiest times for Uber is on weekends when Uber becomes the “designated driver” after a night of partying. Mom and dad would be proud.
With my mission now complete and heading home from Asheville, by coincidence I happened upon a Yellow Cab taxi parked at a gas station near the airport. I pulled alongside, rolled down my window and asked the driver, “So, what do you think of Uber?” Without hesitation, the cabbie named Dal uttered, “If they break down, you’re flat out of luck.” Dal went on to tell me how much his insurance costs, that he works 12-hour shifts and seldom clears more than $60 a day. “And I hate picking up people from bars at night. They can really mess up a cab,” Dal said. I suspect that Uber drivers have the same problem.