My wife and I went to an Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday. We've been in the habit of taking a car2go to our destination when we both want to drink, and then finding an alternate way home. Having used UberBlack multiple times, but finding it a bit expensive, we're always on the lookout for other options. I'm frequently able to make the bus work, which obviously the cheapest option by far. But sometimes it's not particularly convenient.
Thankfully, the City of Minneapolis approved additional options over the summer, opening the way to lower cost services such as Lyft and UberX. The taxis are also trying there hand at a better experience locally with TruTaxi.
So, Saturday we were out in Northeast at Bauhaus Brew Labs. We took car2go over there and judging from the number of them parked outside, were not the only ones. We walked over to Indeed Brewing afterwards for one, then to the SuperAmerica on Broadway. We had to be downtown in 40 minutes. The bus was not an option due to time and distance. So I used TruTaxi for the first time to request a cab. After hanging for a minute, it said our cab driver was assigned and he'd be there in 5 minutes.
Then we waited. And waited, and waited. The app lets you see where your driver is. He was over the river in north and not moving. It also lets you call him. Frankly, after waiting for that long, I cancelled. And decided to try lyft for the first time.
Lyft is a one button experience, you click and it summons a driver. We were assigned a driver that was 5 or 6 blocks away and she was there in minutes. Was greeted in a very friendly manner and she figured out where we were going without much fuss. Was super nice to talk to and just a great overall experience.
Then I got an invoice from TruTaxi saying they had charged me a cancellation fee of $.01 cent. I almost disputed on principle but decided it wasn't even worth my time. I deleted the app immediately and probably won't be using it again. I admire them for trying but the experience was terrible.
Lyft will become a regular option in our stable of transportation options for sure.
