The human species has blown my mind once again. The other day I made the courageous decision to hit the “Request Pool” button on the Uber app, and it was life-changing.
If you think I am exaggerating, you are not wrong. I tend to get a tad too excited about these sort of things. I am not lying when I say that I have had nothing but good experiences since I began using this feature, and it has been a whole 48 hours since I started using it. Sure, there is a large window for error, but the whole concept really has me mesmerized. In summary, UberPOOL allows a person or a pair of people to share an Uber with others going in the same direction or proximity as themselves. Yes, you would be sharing with strangers, but some notable positives of this feature are that it is more environmentally friendly, it is cheaper and it is a great way to meet new people! The last one may be a bit of a stretch, but I do think it is a great way to bring people together. I should not be scared to get into a car with other people, yet I was.
I researched this element of Uber before determining it was a power move. Some people are strong advocates of UberPOOL, while others believe it to be more inconvenient than anything else. Many opponents of this carpool system had bad experiences with it. These experiences, for the most part, were a result of their ride being longer than anticipated because the Uber driver was unable to find the person designated to share the Uber with them, or was unable to deliver the other person to their destination in a timely manner. Both scenarios are reasonable, though, and could have easily happened to any of the passengers involved in the UberPOOL. Unfortunately, people tend to lack the patience needed to refrain from getting annoyed with people who disrupt their original plans in the slightest way. UberPOOL may make things a little more unpredictable, but I think a person needs that every once in awhile.
So besides teaching people to exhaust less resources than necessary and decreasing the amount of air pollution in our atmosphere, UberPOOL also teaches another lesson: the importance of sharing. Imagine a world where people were not inconvenienced by other people. Crazy, right? Uber is on to something with this feature.
The next time you are hopping a ride with Uber, try out UberPOOL, and strike up a conversation with the person, or persons, that hop into the Uber with you. Maybe you will learn something new...or maybe you will just be late getting to your destination. What do I know?
