A popular taxi service has made its way to Stillwater.
Uber, headquartered in San Francisco, is a crowd-sourced taxi service that has become popular around the world for its rates and convenient smartphone app.
The service, which arrived in Stillwater on Feb. 12, is run completely through an app and is available for free on both the iPhone and Android app stores.
Hector Silva, an Uber driver from Oklahoma City, said that Uber is attractive to the college crowd when it comes to getting a ride to and from the bar.
“College-aged adults are more likely to drive to and from the bar because it's typically a short distance, than call a traditional taxi,” Silva said. “Uber seems to have a different connotation to it, and they really like using it.”
The taxi service is a new option for users who are intoxicated. This could be a benefit to Stillwater, which arrests more than 100 drivers for driving under the influence each year, according to Stillwater.org.
David Crall, a political science senior, said that he thinks Uber has the potential to do a lot of good for the town.
“If used widely, it will increase the overall safety of Stillwater by conveniently providing a system of designated drivers,” he said. “However, like anything, it all depends on whether or not people decide to use it.”
Amber Bracken, a human development and family sciences junior, said that she hopes it will make the college town a safer place.
“I hope it decreases the number of people who drink and drive,” she said. “But you have to get people to use it, and I'm not sure they will.”
To use the app, customers can either create an account with an email or connect the app to their Facebook accounts.
Then, users can enter their credit card or debit card information into the app or use an existing PayPal account. The driver is paid through the app.
Silva said that there is a difference from calling a taxi and requesting an Uber, especially with the driver.
Instead of driving a marked taxi, drivers use their own car.
“There's a different feel of getting in someone's car,” Silva said. “That's their car, they take pride in it.”
Once the user has used the app to set a pick-up point, Uber will locate the nearest driver. The app allows the user to see where the driver is at any point. Silva said this allows for more accuracy.
“Uber drivers are the closest driver to the rider,” Silva said. “You can see how far away they are. There's no, ‘Well they will be here in about 20 minutes.’”
After an Uber drive has accepted the request for pickup, the app will ask the customer for a destination. Uber then gives an estimate of the price of the trip and how long it will take. The user also gets the driver’s information and a rating from previous riders on the driver’s performance.
“The drivers get rated by the passengers,” Silva said. “If a driver’s rating gets too low, they get their privileges revoked.”
Once the driver has arrived, he or she receives the destination that the user wants to go to. The driver then takes the customer to the destination. After the driver and customer arrive, the app determines how much the ride costs and takes it from the user’s account.
“The driver ‘starts’ the ride then ‘ends’ it when he or she drops the people off.” Silva said. “Uber calculates time in car, distance traveled and a total gets deducted from their account.”