Smartphone apps are a blessing. With Facebook, we found long lost friends. With Zomato, ordering food became easier. With AirBnB we had no reason to worry about finding the perfect accommodation for a vacation. And then came Uber, the solution to all our commuting problems. Getting to office became easier, there were no issues of drinking and driving and the best part? It is super adorable! So here are some things we weren’t able to do when there was no Uber!
1. You had to explain your location
“Bhaiya, next left turn. Right nahi, left. Arre ye wala left nahi, next walla.” Yes, that harrowing experience of trying to explain where you are. Now, it’s as simple as “Bhaiya, location pe aajao.”
2. No cabs available
Hiring a cab was a novelty and not an everyday occurrence! First of all, the number of cabs available were limited. So whenever you did find one, the amount that was quoted was exorbitant!
3. The reign of the autowallas
The autowallahs had complete monopoly over the fares and routes when there were no available cabs. You could stand on the roads for hours, begging them to take you but they wouldn’t relent.
4. The safety feature
I remember a time when we’d be travelling in a cab but there really wasn’t any way to track our journey or tell our parents about our location. The fact that we can share our live location with our friends and friends, gives us a sense of safety!
5. Finding people to carpool was such a task
Back before UberPool existed, you had to ask around and look for people who lived close to your house and could carpool. Now, by pressing a button you have a car, along with a bunch of people heading in the same direction. Let’s not even get started on the amount of money saved!
6. Driving through those traffic jams!
How relieved are we that now we don’t really need to drive everywhere? If I am expecting a jam, I’m going to book a cab for myself and sit and relax, in the backseat, while someone else drives me around.
7. You needed to speak the same language as the driver
Recently, a friend recounted an incident about the time she was stranded in Bangkok. Because of the language barrier, she was unable to commute within the city. All she did was download the app, book a cab and voila, she was at her destination in no time. No worrying about not speaking another language!
8. You had to have cash on you, at all times
Because these cab drivers, obviously, did not carry a card machine with them. Now, you can link your debit card details to your Uber account and you are good to go!
9. You had spend time convincing the driver to take you to certain areas of the city
Remember the time cab/auto drivers would say things like “Madam, me uss direction mein nai jaa raha, aap dusri dhundh lijiye.”
10. You had no idea how long the cab driver would take to arrive
Or even if he was coming or just fibbing! You had no way to track how far he was or how long he’d take.
11. You had to have a have designated driver
Going out partying was not easy! One person wasn’t allowed to have alcohol. Now, everyone in the group can get drunk, if they want.
POPxo is getting a makeover and we could not be more excited – a brand new look, fun features and a big surprise!! Check us out on April 2! 🙂
GIFs: Giphy
