Patent Application By The Ride Sharing Company Is A Dumb Idea
By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Nightlife Blogger
So Uber is pursuing a patent application that will help it identify drunk passengers.
That’s just great.
Let me just state publicly here that Uber, I’ll either be drunk when I get into an Uber or I’m on my way to getting drunk.
I’m hardly alone. That’s the sole reason myself and tens of thousands of other people take Uber in the first place – because we’re going out to drink and we want to be responsible and not drive.
We don’t want to sit in a lively place while others around us are whooping it up and have to say to a waitress or bartender “no, I can’t have another, I’m driving,” or switch to drinking water.
Heck, people going out drinking is why Uber (and Lyft) have been so successful in the first place.
The “technology” will take into account the time of the pickup and the location. Gee, as if a driver picking up passengers in a nightlife area at, say 2 a.m., won’t be able to figure that out on their own. Or after a concert or sporting event.
And just what will Uber do with this information anyway? Will the driver be forced deny passengers a ride if the “technology” determines someone is drunk?
Rude drivers are already costing Uber (and Lyft) once-loyal passengers. Just wait and see what happens when a driver turns down people and leaves them stranded outside a nightclub, a concert venue or a football stadium.
I understand it’s tough on drivers dealing with drunks. I’ve been sober in bars and around groups of people who have been drinking for a while and I can’t wait to get out of there. Or try and catch up with them, at least somewhat by catching a buzz.
But those drivers know what to expect when they head into a party zone. They also know that there is a lot more money to be made by picking up passenger in a nightlife area rathern than taking people to the airport or to the grocery store.
This is a dumb idea Uber.
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