Free Cultural Trends Surrounding Uber Essay Sample

Uber is the latest travel phenomenon to enter society and it has done so with a bang. It is a transportation service that connects riders with drivers. It has an edge over traditional taxi cab services by offering a more mainstream, sophisticated alternative for transportation. What sets Uber apart from taxis and other modes of transportation is its attention to safety in a society where safety concerns are at an all-time high. Drivers are extensively background screened for maximum safety precautions and to assuage any concerns riders may have.
The service is conducted through an app. Patrons set their location on the app and request a ride. A designated Uber driver will accept and pick up the patron from their location and drive them to their destination. The app will also estimate the cost of a ride based on where the patron is currently located in relation to their destination point.
In our fast-paced society, cultural norms have predicated an instantaneous result to everything for ease and convenience of societal functioning. Uber is one such example. The company was founded in 2009 as a start-up by Travis Kalanick and is based in San Francisco, CA (uber.com). The inspiration for the company came from Kalanick being unable to successfully hail a cab to a conference in Paris, France. It was inconvenient and frustrating. Kalanick thought it would be nice to be able to call someone to pick him up and take him where he needed to go without having to hail cabs, risk missing them, or wait needlessly until he could catch the next one. In a time-sensitive, face-paced culture, the need was definitely there to justify such a service. There is no doubt that Americans are driving less in order to save fuel costs, which made the idea all the more appealing to investors.
In a Washington Post article from December 24, 2013, it highlighted Uber and the way it is changing the scope of how consumers think about driving and using alternative means of transportation. The concept is not a new one. Zipcar introduced a similar model prior to Uber’s emergence by offering consumers the opportunity to rent a vehicle for short-distance trips. The service was offered in areas where parking was at a premium (like found on university campuses) and having access to personal vehicles was limited.
In a University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute survey, respondents indicated that the cost of owning and maintaining a vehicle led them not to possess a driver’s license and resort to using public transportation. As the Washington Post article mentions, Uber has been well-received in cities and areas where transportation options are few and consumers look for viable alternatives to owning an automobile or having to drive less. Uber “advances the more efficient idea that owning will soon give way to sharing, a practice that's more sustainable in the long run” (Fung). Car culture will not go away entirely, but the concept behind Uber is that the service will be needed by consumers at some point and at the right time. It has the potential of enhancing sustainability in terms of ride-sharing, lower emissions due to reduced personal vehicle usage, and the ability to relieve consumers from the burden of driving.
Uber has proven itself worthy in the eyes of consumers and as the next big thing in transportation. It may never fully replace personal vehicles, but has become the answer for consumer’s transportation woes in ways like never before. Its relevance in the fast-paced nature of society has responded to its growing cultural trends. As it continues to catch on, more and more consumers will choose the Uber transportation service as an alternative to driving because of its convenience and time-saving benefits.

Work Cited

Fung, Brian. “How Uber Could Reinforce Car Culture.” The Washington Post. 24 Dec. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
Uber. About Uber. 2015. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.