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Have you ever wanted to go somewhere – a concert, a restaurant or even just a friend’s house – but you didn’t own a car, it was in the shop or you were too tired to safely drive? It’s true that cars have their advantages and that the “open road” has been systematically recorded in entertainment history, such as National Lampoon’s Holiday and Rain Man
Sometimes, though, you need to know when to let someone else take the wheel … in particular, people working at ride sharing services. As Cnet points out, “ride sharing” has become a misnomer in that companies like Uber and Lyft function more as “ride hailing” services than ways for strangers to share a car. Regardless of the exact name, here are five awesome reasons why you should jump on the ride-service train or, in this case, car!
If you’ve ever wanted your own personal chauffeur, ride-sharing services can make that dream come true (for a small price at least). Ride sharing services like Lyft and Uber are designed to be easily accessible and their apps let you catch a ride no matter where you are. Just indicate exactly where you want to go, wait for your car to pull up, enjoy the ride and pay once you safely arrive at your destination. If you have your credit card information on file with the service you use, you don’t even have to worry about carrying cash to pay for your trip; your card can be charged automatically. Unless you consider pushing buttons on your smartphone a “hardship,” these services are really as easy as (clicking) one, two, three.
When was the last time you worried about your car? Last night when you realized you were low on gas? Last month when you suddenly needed to replace your entire transmission? What about two years ago when you bought your first car and cringed at the monthly payments? Regardless of car’s benefits, they also are a lot of work and money. In fact, Your Mechanic reports that the average American spends 5% of his or her paycheck on buying a car and another 5% on maintenance and insurance. When comparing the cost of owning a car to using services like Zipcar and Uber, Bostinno found that, depending on the number of trips being made and miles being traveled, someone could annually spend $6,771 on car ownership and $3,856 on services like Uber and Zipcar. Even if you still use a car but use ride-sharing services regularly, you’ll still save money on fuel and create less wear and tear on your car, which means less maintenance to pay for!
Have you ever been driving through a city during rush hour, speeding to arrive to work on time and find a parking spot or just sitting in traffic on the way back from work and feel your stress levels rising? You aren’t the only one. Cityclock.org reports that researchers have studied the negative effects of driving for decades. In 2014, the UK Office of National Statistics announced that commuters have “lower life satisfaction, a lower sense that their daily activities are worthwhile, lower levels of happiness and higher anxiety on average than non-commuters.” While you probably shouldn’t quit your job, letting someone else drive you to work may be the key to less stressful life.
If you’ve ever mentally listed all of the other things you could be doing when you’re sitting in traffic – like paint your nails, read a book, catch up with a friend or finish your stats homework – then you might want to check out the ride-sharing options in your area. Because you aren’t driving, you can use your commuting time to sleep, relax or simply enjoy the view. You can also “multitask” by meeting some new people while commuting to work. You never know who could be your driver and what experiences they’ve had or what wisdom they can offer. If you live in Paris and love to talk, you can even use a ride-sharing service designed just for that: BlaBlaCar.
Now, let’s take a quick trip back to high school biology and revisit the idea of Global Warming. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, cars and trucks account for 1/5 of all of the US’s greenhouse gas emissions. This means that cars are contributing the rise in temperatures, sea levels and number of droughts and floods. By driving your own car less (or not owning a car at all) and using ride-sharing services instead, you can reduce the number of drivers on the road and, in a small way, help fight against Global Warming.
Even though there are many benefits to ride sharing, also be aware of the dangers. Use a reputable service to ensure that your driver is safe and experienced and be aware of your surroundings (even while multitasking) during the drive.
Which riding services do you use? Let us know in the comments below!
