The urban transport solution for coronavirus and afterwards
is not personal chauffeurs. It really isn't.
Uber has started a pilot of pre-paid hourly rentals. The service is called “Hourly Driver” and is currently being offered in half a dozen large Australian cities. Uber suggests the service to customers that want to “get all their essential travel done in one go.” “From a trip from the office, to the chemist, to the …
So...it's the tube?
Think seriously about the issue. Public transport is HORRIBLE during a plague. If you have to get around, say, for food, exactly what is a person to do? Somehow, you need a ride.
Benefits:
1) You engage one taxi.
- You are exposed to the germs in one taxi for the duration of the trip.
- You are exposed to the germs of one driver for the duration of the trip.
- You do not have to wait outside the store right next to everyone else who is also waiting on a taxi.
- You do not have to wait after leaving the store at all.
2) The taxi driver engages one passenger.
- The driver is exposed to the germs of one passenger, albeit multiple times for the duration.
- The driver does not have to sit, unpaid, waiting for a call.
- The driver does not have to worry about you actually showing up when you say for the return trip.
Cost:
You have to pay the driver something to wait on you while you run inside.
This looks like a very sensible solution, especially if The Company is taking a bit less, in many cases.
"Think seriously about the issue. Public transport is HORRIBLE during a plague. If you have to get around, say, for food, exactly what is a person to do? Somehow, you need a ride."
Err, walk? May even have the side effect of reducing Obesity which seems to be a major factor whether coronavirus is fatal to the individual or not.
Cycle? With or without paniers. Same effect as above.
Backpack and balance one carrier bag on each handlebar can carry a surprising amount of food per trip. Multiple trips per day allowed, even during UK lockdown.
Tip : If only balancing one carrier bag on the handlebars place it to the kerbside.
I had my walk/bike everywhere days. Even at the age of 19, they generally sucked. There is a real limit on how much you can carry on a bike. I learned hands-free biking just to be able to carry more.
And..rain happens.
And...I was 19. Not everyone lives your urban paradise. Necessary stores are often miles away, with serious hills between. People age.
If you can walk/bike it, by all means do. But don't demand that everyone does.
Heck, I don't use a rideshare every quarter. That doesn't mean I condemn those who do.