Uber Drivers Around the World Tell All

Riots, support groups, and psychic-energy vampires.

In the past year, Uber—now available in over 300 cities—has become as ubiquitous an American export as McDonald’s. There are fewer and fewer places where you can’t summon a driver with your thumb and watch on your phone as he or she weaves through twisty-turny cobblestoned streets or speeds down a freeway to reach you. In formerly taxi-starved neighborhoods, Uber’s made going out at night a lot safer. It’s also created jobs and ostensibly cut down on drunk driving. But as with most disruptions, there’ve been some less savory side effects: Pretty much everywhere Uber’s landed, taxi drivers have immediately felt the pain of diminished business (this has led to protests and occasionally violent clashes). Meanwhile, the Uber drivers have their own worries: In New York, their rates were unceremoniously dropped 15 percent in January. Questions of vetting have also come up, particularly in the wake of a driver’s killing spree in Michigan (though, as the company pointed out, he’d had no prior criminal record). With Uber seemingly everywhere, we decided to take our own extended ride, checking in on a new UberMoto motorcycle service in Bangkok and homespun competitors like Southeast Asia’s Grab—and getting some driver recommendations for Mexico City tacos. Something McDonald’s can’t provide.

Hamid Shaikh: Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire

"Working for Uber commands respect.” Just not among college kids.