As I wait for my e-bike to arrive, I need to call out Uber and its "UberX Priority" 'feature'.
Uber lets users pay extra for supposedly faster pickups, but many drivers say it's a scam. I’ve never paid for it myself, but here’s their perspective: Even on priority rides, wait times don’t improve much. Some drivers still get 15+ minute ETA estimates, and for regular rides, waits can exceed 20 minutes. Frustrated riders cancel, causing drivers to waste time and fuel heading toward trips that never happen. And when they do receive a priority ride? The extra $1 or so isn’t worth the hassle, especially if a rider cancels or if their distance to get picked up is over 15 minutes. It's interesting.
I’ve never used UberX Priority, but my wait times often exceed 10 minutes after getting a driver. On some days, the total time from requesting a ride to pickup exceeds 25 minutes. For example, if I request a ride at :25 past the hour, I might not reach my destination until 40 minutes later. If a driver cancels, the wait is even worse—I’ve waited over an hour and been late to work because of Uber’s unreliable system.
What’s frustrating is that I see nearby drivers on the map, just minutes away, but Uber seems to prioritize those who pay extra for priority. Instead, my request gets sent to drivers 20–30 minutes away. My actual trip is only 12 minutes, yet the process takes about 35 minutes: 5 minutes to find a driver, 20 minutes for pickup, and a little over 10 minutes to reach my destination.
Don't get me wrong, some days I get lucky with a driver that is less than 10 minutes away (after waiting to find a driver), which can be a total time of around 28 minutes, but that's still kind of ridiculous.
Ultimately, paying for poor service—plus the risk of being late—pushed me to just buy an electric bike. It's ridiculous.
I've calculated that my electric bike will pay for itself in UberX savings in under a month. Uber just isn't worth it for me.