Uber, Lyft and BeMyDD make inroads into Sonoma
Date Posted:
Mon, Nov 16 2015,
Sonoma Index Tribune
alling a cab is so ... 2014. More and more Sonoma residents, tourists and, yes, teens are relying on cashless, ride-request smart-phone apps for transportation in and around Sonoma.
Fifteen-year-old Sterling MacDonnell has been taking an Uber between his mom’s house in Napa and his dad’s house in Glen Ellen for almost a year. “I’m an Uber addict,” he said. “With a click of a button, I know that someone is on their way and I can get where I need to go. I can see beforehand how much the ride will cost and I have found the drivers to be really cool people. I love talking to them.”
MacDonnell said that he will probably stop using Uber when he gets his license but, until then, he can’t imagine how he and his friends would survive without it.
Based in San Francisco, Uber expanded into Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties in mid-2014.
Uber drivers operate as independent contractors and they are vetted through Uber to ensure a clean driving record and insurance. Customers install an Uber app, set up an automatic payment method and then when they need a ride, they just click a button to request a driver, hop in and no payment changes hands. A receipt is emailed automatically and the passenger (and driver) each enter a quick rating.
Before they could drive, 18-year-old Brianna Lehane and her friends used to enjoy calling an Uber when no one’s parents were available. “I pressed one or two buttons and knew exactly when my car would come for me, what type of car it is, and the name of my driver.” Lehane feels loyalty to local taxi company’s like Vern’s, however, and she said she typically only used Uber to go to another town or when traveling.
Sixteen-year-old Maddie Cashel doesn’t use Uber much in Sonoma but she relied entirely on Uber when she was traveling alone around Chengdu, China last summer. “Ubers were everywhere,” she said. As an added bonus, her parents could follow her travels in real time thanks to the receipts emailed the moment the passenger exits the car. Why do some parents trust Uber more than a local cab? Parents can see a photo of who will come for their child, see the driver’s rating from past customers and, perhaps most importantly, if they want, watch the progress of the entire trip mapped on their phone.
Seventeen-year-old Ella Freudenberger said, “I have the Uber app on my phone, and, the one time I’ve used it, it was very enjoyable. My driver was super friendly and ended up giving me the ride for free, because I was the first one of her day.”
The Uber website says that, “Passengers using the ?service must be 18 years old” – but the interpretation by some of the riders and drivers seems to be that you must be 18 to set up an account, but that you can use the app and ride alone as a teen.
Even newer on the scene is BeMyDD (Designated Driver) – already a hot ticket among Sonoma’s late-night crowd. The service charges $19.50 per hour to take you wherever you want to go – in your car, as many stops as you like, and back home again at the end of the night. How is it so inexpensive? The driver uses your car and there is a three-hour-minimum. BeMyDD is currently in 76 markets.
BeMyDD boasts that its “professionally dressed and fully-screened drivers” have at least 10 years of experience. “Our average driver is 41 years old. We look for former chauffeurs, limo drivers or applicants who have their commercial driver’s license,” said spokesperson Alexa Milkovich. When you make a reservation, you can request specific driver attributes, including gender or a non-smoker, or a favorite driver you’ve used previously. Worried about the insurance implications of a stranger driving your car? BeMyDD carries a $2 million commercial auto insurance policy that covers its customers’ vehicles and rental cars if a BeMyDD driver is ever at fault.
A ?seemingly professional and experienced driver ?named Laura picked up Sonoma resident Francesca Schuler and some friends earlier this fall to take the group in Schuler’s car to San Francisco. “It is the most convenient option and least expensive I’ve found to go into the city for a few hours and not need to worry about parking or driving home,” said Schuler.? ?She added that they have used the service for Giants games and concerts, finding it most helpful for events where parking is difficult and the drive home is late at night.?
Rebecca Henley has already used the service several times to get dropped off at SFO when she doesn’t want to park her car at the airport. “At around $60, it’s the least expensive option we’ve found.”
If you are out at a party and realize you shouldn’t drive your car home, in the past the only solution was to take a cab home and find time and someone willing to go with you the next day to get your car. But BeMyDD will send two drivers to come get you and your car. There is a flat fee of $25 and then a per-mile charge like a taxi.
Lyft has also arrived in Sonoma. It is similar to Uber and is offering aggressive discounts to gain a foothold into this market. All three companies, Uber, Lyft and BeMyDD, stress that they take meticulous care in reviewing, screening and selecting their drivers and doing detailed background checks. It was hard to find a Sonoma resident who has had a bad experience with the companies although there have been periodic press reports of troubling customer-driver altercations in other cities. So far, the complaints you hear from Uber, Lyft and BeMyDD customers in Sonoma are that sometimes drivers are not available; their cars are busy circling in other towns.
So what other innovations could possibly be added to the private driving category?
Busy soccer moms are going to be fascinated by the concept behind Shuddle. This Bay area start-up (shuddle.us), which recently expanded to Marin County, is aimed specifically at helping parents to drive their children around. Kids can ride alone as soon as they don’t need a booster seat (the site suggests 8 years old). Shuddle makes a point of noting that it is the only option that is allowed to, and insured to, transport unaccompanied minors.
How could a parent trust a stranger to drive their 8-year-old? The site claims an extensive vetting process for new drivers, as well as vehicle inspections. Parents can also monitor the ride as it happens via GPS.
Does the arrival of these new ride services mean a death knell for local taxi companies, like Sonoma favorite Vern’s and Sonoma Taxi? Vern English has been driving the elderly on errands and the intoxicated home from the Plaza for more than a decade. Vern’s Taxi currently has around 20 drivers and a fleet of 12 cars and two vans. English said that business has been steady for the past four years. “The smaller fare is really my bread and butter,” he explained. His drivers only head down to the airport a few times each week. He was completely unconcerned when asked if he was worried about these start-ups.
Email Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com
NEED TO GO TO SFO?
(Comparing the cost of a trip to San Francisco International Airport at midday on a weekday)
BYMYDD -- “We drive your car so you don’t have to.”
BeMyDD to SFO = $60 if it take less than 3 hours round trip and $80 for four hours. Most riders add a cash tip of 20 percent.
LYFT - “A ride whenever you need one.”
You find your fare estimate on the lyft.com website. Lyft to SFO = $80. Riders add a tip with your web payment.
UBER - “Your ride, on demand.” www.uber.com
Fare estimates are easy to obtain in advance. UBER to SFO = $98-$127. The web site says no tipping is expected with Uber.
?VERN’s - “If you want a taxi, pick up the phone and call me,” – Vern English. Vern’s = around $150 plus tip
Fifteen-year-old Sterling MacDonnell has been taking an Uber between his mom’s house in Napa and his dad’s house in Glen Ellen for almost a year. “I’m an Uber addict,” he said. “With a click of a button, I know that someone is on their way and I can get where I need to go. I can see beforehand how much the ride will cost and I have found the drivers to be really cool people. I love talking to them.”
MacDonnell said that he will probably stop using Uber when he gets his license but, until then, he can’t imagine how he and his friends would survive without it.
Based in San Francisco, Uber expanded into Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties in mid-2014.
Uber drivers operate as independent contractors and they are vetted through Uber to ensure a clean driving record and insurance. Customers install an Uber app, set up an automatic payment method and then when they need a ride, they just click a button to request a driver, hop in and no payment changes hands. A receipt is emailed automatically and the passenger (and driver) each enter a quick rating.
Before they could drive, 18-year-old Brianna Lehane and her friends used to enjoy calling an Uber when no one’s parents were available. “I pressed one or two buttons and knew exactly when my car would come for me, what type of car it is, and the name of my driver.” Lehane feels loyalty to local taxi company’s like Vern’s, however, and she said she typically only used Uber to go to another town or when traveling.
Sixteen-year-old Maddie Cashel doesn’t use Uber much in Sonoma but she relied entirely on Uber when she was traveling alone around Chengdu, China last summer. “Ubers were everywhere,” she said. As an added bonus, her parents could follow her travels in real time thanks to the receipts emailed the moment the passenger exits the car. Why do some parents trust Uber more than a local cab? Parents can see a photo of who will come for their child, see the driver’s rating from past customers and, perhaps most importantly, if they want, watch the progress of the entire trip mapped on their phone.
Seventeen-year-old Ella Freudenberger said, “I have the Uber app on my phone, and, the one time I’ve used it, it was very enjoyable. My driver was super friendly and ended up giving me the ride for free, because I was the first one of her day.”
The Uber website says that, “Passengers using the ?service must be 18 years old” – but the interpretation by some of the riders and drivers seems to be that you must be 18 to set up an account, but that you can use the app and ride alone as a teen.
Even newer on the scene is BeMyDD (Designated Driver) – already a hot ticket among Sonoma’s late-night crowd. The service charges $19.50 per hour to take you wherever you want to go – in your car, as many stops as you like, and back home again at the end of the night. How is it so inexpensive? The driver uses your car and there is a three-hour-minimum. BeMyDD is currently in 76 markets.
BeMyDD boasts that its “professionally dressed and fully-screened drivers” have at least 10 years of experience. “Our average driver is 41 years old. We look for former chauffeurs, limo drivers or applicants who have their commercial driver’s license,” said spokesperson Alexa Milkovich. When you make a reservation, you can request specific driver attributes, including gender or a non-smoker, or a favorite driver you’ve used previously. Worried about the insurance implications of a stranger driving your car? BeMyDD carries a $2 million commercial auto insurance policy that covers its customers’ vehicles and rental cars if a BeMyDD driver is ever at fault.
A ?seemingly professional and experienced driver ?named Laura picked up Sonoma resident Francesca Schuler and some friends earlier this fall to take the group in Schuler’s car to San Francisco. “It is the most convenient option and least expensive I’ve found to go into the city for a few hours and not need to worry about parking or driving home,” said Schuler.? ?She added that they have used the service for Giants games and concerts, finding it most helpful for events where parking is difficult and the drive home is late at night.?
Rebecca Henley has already used the service several times to get dropped off at SFO when she doesn’t want to park her car at the airport. “At around $60, it’s the least expensive option we’ve found.”
If you are out at a party and realize you shouldn’t drive your car home, in the past the only solution was to take a cab home and find time and someone willing to go with you the next day to get your car. But BeMyDD will send two drivers to come get you and your car. There is a flat fee of $25 and then a per-mile charge like a taxi.
Lyft has also arrived in Sonoma. It is similar to Uber and is offering aggressive discounts to gain a foothold into this market. All three companies, Uber, Lyft and BeMyDD, stress that they take meticulous care in reviewing, screening and selecting their drivers and doing detailed background checks. It was hard to find a Sonoma resident who has had a bad experience with the companies although there have been periodic press reports of troubling customer-driver altercations in other cities. So far, the complaints you hear from Uber, Lyft and BeMyDD customers in Sonoma are that sometimes drivers are not available; their cars are busy circling in other towns.
So what other innovations could possibly be added to the private driving category?
Busy soccer moms are going to be fascinated by the concept behind Shuddle. This Bay area start-up (shuddle.us), which recently expanded to Marin County, is aimed specifically at helping parents to drive their children around. Kids can ride alone as soon as they don’t need a booster seat (the site suggests 8 years old). Shuddle makes a point of noting that it is the only option that is allowed to, and insured to, transport unaccompanied minors.
How could a parent trust a stranger to drive their 8-year-old? The site claims an extensive vetting process for new drivers, as well as vehicle inspections. Parents can also monitor the ride as it happens via GPS.
Does the arrival of these new ride services mean a death knell for local taxi companies, like Sonoma favorite Vern’s and Sonoma Taxi? Vern English has been driving the elderly on errands and the intoxicated home from the Plaza for more than a decade. Vern’s Taxi currently has around 20 drivers and a fleet of 12 cars and two vans. English said that business has been steady for the past four years. “The smaller fare is really my bread and butter,” he explained. His drivers only head down to the airport a few times each week. He was completely unconcerned when asked if he was worried about these start-ups.
Email Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com
NEED TO GO TO SFO?
(Comparing the cost of a trip to San Francisco International Airport at midday on a weekday)
BYMYDD -- “We drive your car so you don’t have to.”
BeMyDD to SFO = $60 if it take less than 3 hours round trip and $80 for four hours. Most riders add a cash tip of 20 percent.
LYFT - “A ride whenever you need one.”
You find your fare estimate on the lyft.com website. Lyft to SFO = $80. Riders add a tip with your web payment.
UBER - “Your ride, on demand.” www.uber.com
Fare estimates are easy to obtain in advance. UBER to SFO = $98-$127. The web site says no tipping is expected with Uber.
?VERN’s - “If you want a taxi, pick up the phone and call me,” – Vern English. Vern’s = around $150 plus tip