It's been a long time coming, but Uber has finally launched in Hull.
Back in February, Hull City Council gave the global company the green light to operate in the city as part of a pledge from the company to branch out to wider UK cities and towns. No official date was set at the time, but as of this week, the transportation service is now up and running in Hull.
I tried it out to see how it fares against other taxiing services in the city - and drew up a timeline of how smoothly the app worked.
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Firstly; customers have been able to get a lift with the app for some time. Although not an official Uber lift, a partnership between the firm and Hull Cars allowed people to get from point A to B with the app.
I personally tried the app, but was not too impressed and stuck to DRIVE. However, Uber has saved me a few times when I've been to the likes of Manchester and Leeds. If you've done the Otley Run, you know that the first stop is some distance away from the train station, and going across Leeds in fancy dress is far from ideal.
Knowing that the City Centre and the Avenues are some of the post-popular stop-off points in Hull, I ordered my first ever HU-Uber to the heart of the Aves from Queens Gardens at 12:34 on Friday. Being a bit of a slight peak time, I was aware I would not get a near-instantaneous pick up - giving me time to finish my meal deal. The Uber arrived at 12:50. By some of the standards that I'm used to, a 16-minute wait is more than feasible - even better as the app said it would be 21 minutes.
From the outside, it looked like a normal taxi - with Hull City Council branding rather than Uber. "For Jack, mate?" I asked - even though the registration matched the one on my phone. I thought it was more courteous than just diving in the back seat.
My driver was a lovely chatty man, who even welcomed me to Hull Uber given its freshness. It was explained that the rollout began throughout the week and that he has been non-stop with bookings.
We discussed the rating system. Customers and drivers are ranked out of five, which include politeness, safety and being on time. Although it's direct from a Black Mirror episode; a higher rating can help with getting a lift quicker, especially at peak times as it proves that you're a good customer. My rating was already at 4.89 and my driver's was 4.79 with seven and a half years under his belt.
My journey ended at Larkin's on Newland Avenue at 12:58, a speedy eight minutes and cost £6.42. Prices with Uber are praised for usually being cheaper than competitors - the same lift with Drive was quoted at an estimated £7.50.
Uber uses surge charges which will increase that rate - things such as bad weather, rush hour and special events. An instance of this happening to me previously is in Sheffield, when a return trip was doubled with everyone flocking out of a gig venue in the pouring rain.
The app relies on the internet, and the Avenues has quite a dodgy signal from personal experience, I had to ask for the Wi-Fi password to ensure my lift back. The return trip was booked at 13:14 with an estimated 11-minute wait. Traffic was getting really built up at this point, and the lift was outside for 1:29 - still a good time regardless having taken the traffic into consideration. I was dropped off at Blundell's Corner at 1:40 - costing £5.04. For reference, an estimate from DRIVE would be £6.70.
I feel like the app is pretty straightforward to use, but my mum was stung for £59.99 on her first time using the app when she accidentally signed up for the premium Uber One membership. Though not necessary, the membership offers discounted prices on both the lift services and food delivery services.
Even though it's in its infancy, Uber in Hull was pretty seamless. Granted I did not go that far on my lifts, but as time goes on and more drivers sign up it will act as very healthy competition to the already existing firms in Hull. The app is completely cash-free which is ideal, but in 2024 most things will be cashless.
People have been asking for years for Uber, and it's finally here.
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