The story of the little red prius

There once was a little red prius who loved to drive around town. She loved seeing the sites and waving to the people.  One day the little red prius thought it might be fun to help people out and give them a ride.  But she new she would need help finding the people who needed rides.

She asked the police cars if they knew people who needed a ride, "We have our own special passengers, you'll need to find your own riders"


She asked her friend the mechanic if he would help her find people who needed a ride. The mechanic said "it's not my job to help you find people who need rides"


She asked the tow truck if he would help her find people who needed a ride. The tow truck replied, "I'm too busy picking up cars to help  you find people who need rides."

The little red prius was sad.  She wanted to be there for people in need but it seemed that every car had their own reasons not to help.

Not to be deterred, the little red prius came up with her own plan.  I'll just work extra hard to find people who need a ride. And so she did.  She made up flags and honked her horn, let everyone know how to find her for a ride. She went to other towns to ask the cars how they found riders and came back with some new tools.

The little red prius asked some friendly looking cars if they would help.  A couple of cars came forward and they worked together.  But most of the other cars just parked and waited to see what would happen.

Soon the hard work paid off and the little red prius found people to drive around. They appreciated her and referred other people in need to her.  But the parked cars became angry.  Why weren't they getting any rides?

The little red prius said, "it's okay, I'll help you too.  Here's how to get more rides for yourselves and she gave them all the tools she had used."  But the cars didn't want to do the work. Instead they sat at the gas station and complained.

It's always going to be the few who benefit when the many can have the same rewards.  If everyone works together the outcome will be plentiful.* Sure it isn't right that we have to self promote instead of Uber doing their job of marketing.  But we have new tools like UZURV to help us turn the tide in our favor and while some may not agree, question or complain about the new reservation network it really can be a benefit if you get out there and spread the word.

It's your choice to sit and complain or to get up and help - everyone will benefit.

*note, this is not to say that Uber shouldn't increase our rates, add a tipping function etc.  This is just another viewpoint on the how to get ahead if you are driving for Uber.