Maybe the inauguration wasn’t such a good idea after all…
United Airlines has a serious problem with its intra-terminal bus transport system at Newark Liberty. Long story short, we missed our connection to Washington National this morning because of the snail pace at which the bus was able to transport customers from Terminal C to Terminal A. I’ll lay out the details later, but in no way can we be faulted for missing this flight…
A customer service agent empathized with us, telling us that the bus is a “chronic problem” that “must be addressed by United”. But her only solution was no solution – an afternoon flight would frustrate the very purpose of our trip: to attend the Trump inauguration.
She suggested that we take a train or rent a car, submit the receipt to United, and we would be fully compensated. While I can almost inevitably bet that I will have trouble collecting reimbursement, John and I did not have time to verify our PNR was properly documented.
Time was ticking and we had to act fast: either we scrap the trip and go home (or go to London, John suggested) or make one last desperate attempt to make it.
Early Amtrak trains were sold out and the only one that could potentially get us to Washington in time was $397/each. Sorry, but I won’t take a chance on compensation for a sum that big. Rental cars also were not cheap – over $200 for a one-way rental.
Uber to DC?
John suggested Uber. My response: are you paying? I figured it would also be $400+ and that would just not be worthwhile. I also figured traffic would be horrendous in Washington and a car would be too difficult to navigate, whether we were driving or being driven.
But John opened up the Uber app and we found that Uber X was a $235 flat rate to Washington, DC. When you factor in the fuel and tolls, that was cheaper than renting a car. Moments later we ordered an Uber and hustled out to the curb to meet it.
A Black Chevy Suburban pulled up. John, did you order Uber Black? No, Uber-X. The driver, good-natured Nigel, explained that sometimes demand for Uber Black is low so he also does Uber-X.
So we are on our way to DC in a comfortable Suburban, hoping that we can navigate around the road blocks and get into our hotel in time to drop off bags and return to the Capitol before noon.
I will post live updates on Twitter and recount the whole story later today, hopefully *after*we have attended the swearing in ceremony.
The Queen is waiting…. 🙂
You should strongly consider having your driver drop you at a Metro to beat the traffic into town.
Not a bad price at all – competitive with Amtrak advance purchase.
I feel bad for the driver, he had to pay to drive them there. The driver’s fuel, maintenance, and depreciation alone for that trip was $285. Then you need to consider Uber’s fee, and tolls (at commercial rates).
That driver not only made NO PROFIT, but actually lost over $100 on that trip.
This is exactly why Uber’s rates should be more than double what they are currently. Driver’s are making NO PROFIT, all they’re doing is trading equity in their vehicles for cash.
Does the driver have to accept the trip?
He doesn’t have to accept a trip, but he was not aware of our destination until he accepted the trip.
Drivers don’t know the destination until they start the trip. Uber used to give destinations up front to drivers, but acceptance rates on some trips were too low. So they started only giving destinations after accepting trips, but then cancellation rates were high on some trips. Finally they stopped telling drivers the destination until they actually start the trip.
The problem is that Uber doesn’t care if drivers can make a profit, and they rely on drivers who have never run their own business before (remember drivers are independent contractors, not employees), and don’t understand the difference between income and profit. This is why Uber is constantly hiring hundreds of drivers every week in every city. The turnover rate is huge once drivers realize that they’re not really making any profit. The smart drivers either quit, or shift their strategy to only accepting rides when there’s surge pricing. Many will just sit offline in busy areas until the surge is high enough that they can actually make a profit. Then go online, get one or two rides, and go offline again until the next surge starts.
Interesting, thanks
To Protest or to attend?
Why does it matter to the story?
Matters in terms of whether he’s a decent person or not.
Gross, why were you in such a hurry to witness our country’s greatest shame?
That price is amazing. I took this trip and it costs about 175 in tolls and gas to drive my Nissan Frontier that trip back and forth (don’t forget that guy has to drive back to NJ where he lives, his trip does not just end at DC like yours). After you took that long drive, went over several toll bridges, I am not sure how you could even write the blog. Giving you a little benefit of the doubt, I am guessing the driver had EZPass so you were unaware that it cost him about 40 dollars to just drive down the NJ Turnpike and over the Delaware. It just goes to show how people are so self-focused that they will literally ignore their own surroundings.
He took backroads to avoid tolls.