Last week, I ordered an Uber to the airport at 5:30am for an early morning flight. A driver right around the corner picks up my ride. He messages a couple of times to reassure me he will be here in a few minutes, although he doesn’t seem to be moving on the map. Ten minutes pass and he messages again, this time he is lost, but I see he is still hasn’t moved on my map.
I’m already waiting outside my apartment. A taxi pulls up, and the driver leans out his window. Did I need a ride? His customer has suddenly cancelled. He can’t turn the meter on for reasons I don’t catch, but he taps some numbers into his phone and quotes me a price almost twice the Uber. I’m starting to worry about missing my flight, and I’m not sure I’ll find another Uber in time, so I accept. Jumping in the back, I’m still messaging my Uber driver who has gone radio silent, but hasn’t cancelled my ride. I’m chatting to the taxi driver, recounting my morning, and agree our meeting was fortuitous! It is at least ten minutes before I start to question the sequence of events. The disappearing Uber driver, the taxi suddenly appearing in my quiet street and before dawn. Have I been scammed? At first, I smile to myself, this guy got me! Then I’m a little annoyed. Sure, it wasn’t a particularly harmful scam – if that’s what it was, nor for that matter was it very lucrative for the alleged perpetrator. Still, as travel ramps up again, we may all be a little rusty. This was regardless, probably a good reminder of that.