Uber: The Future of Taxis?

Before you read: some questions to help you think about the topic and the words you might need.

What is your opinion of taxi drivers?

How do you think the taxi driving industry could be improved?

Perhaps you are tired of dealing with rude and cheating taxi drivers.

Totally new ideas in the transportation business are scant. The industry has had no change for many years. Taxi drivers got a reputation for themselves as dishonest and rude. When people meet a cab driver that is nice and does not try cheating them, they breathe a sigh of relief. It’s actually rather interesting that a fair priced, privately operated taxi service has never successfully been able to compete with them until now. That new service is known as Uber. The single most loved and hated tech start up in the world.

The taxi industry is scared. They are powerful and they are using all their power and contacts in governments to stop Uber. Governments, in many cases, are increasingly choosing to stifle innovation and block Uber from the taxi market. Uber, is everything taxi drivers are not. Uber drivers are friendly, and Uber automatically charges the passenger’s credit card, allowing them to simply get out. No haggling or argument happens with Uber.

Uber drivers are proud to be taxi drivers and proud to be driving for Uber, something you will almost never find in the taxi industry. Uber drivers usually keep about 80% of the fare.  After the ride, passengers are invited to rate their driver from 1-5 stars and leave comments. Drivers who cannot keep a 4.7 rating are kicked out. A driver told me that they are invited to rate the passengers. I have so far been unable to independently check the existence of this feature. A taxi driver interviewed by Business Week said that his income went up 20% after he started driving for Uber.

Uber also has a well-publicized referral program offering free credit to new members referred by existing members. The standard referral bonus is $10. The new member gets the credit as soon as they open their account. The referring member gets their credit after the new member’s first ride.

Personally, I see Uber as the future of the taxi industry. I think that the standard taxis days are numbered. Uber is expanding into new cities all the time. I do not use taxis very frequently, but if I am in a place where Uber operates I use them. Uber has become so popular that it has quickly increased up the rankings of tech companies whose names have become verbs. “Uber it” is a common refrain used by someone using Uber to travel. I’m not sure any other tech company has become a verb so fast, even though they are popular. I also believe that Uber will prevail over its competitors because of its global knowledge and stellar customer service. The next time you need a taxi, take out your smartphone. But first, don’t forget to get the Uber App.

 Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.