Saturday night some friendly bros called from a house party on the East side of St. Paul going home to Uptown. I quoted 15 minutes and arrived in 14. They came right out and off to Uptown we went. I appreciated their sense of urgency because my phone was ringing like it did pre Uber. They thanked me for coming so quickly, and told me they didn't even open their Uber app because they assumed there would be surge pricing because of the Wild game (they were right). I gave them the lowdown on the iPad and aux cord option for playing tunes. One guy grabbed my iPad and I turned the speakers way up at his request. Driving to Minneapolis with the tunes cranked up as my phone blew up on the dash reminded me of the good old days and my cabbie heart was all smiles.

Over the past week I've noticed a sharp uptick in customers seeking me out again. A group of millennial girls that I haven't seen since ridesharing hit our town, jumped back into my cab as if it was just yesterday since they last saw me. While the girl who called me lingered in my backseat to pay (with a skirt too short for the weather), her friends said, it's Uber you don't have to pay. She quickly told them that I was actually her "girl". What brought her back to me? I may never know, but I'm cool acting as if it was just last weekend since she last graced my backseat.

On the heels of NYE regular Uber users are calling wanting to be my best friend for a night. What they don't know is that I'm not really into one night stands. On nights like this I give first priority to customers who are loyal to me all year long. The Uber customer story is the same, they are expecting surge pricing at unreasonable levels and are seeking out alternate options in advance. There are some wonderful cab and limo drivers in this town. Find one that is a fit for you, and program their number into your phone. Be loyal, establish a relationship, and on nights like NYE you won't be hostage to the surge. Times when that driver isn't available? Feel free to cheat on your driver and be uberly active. Just remember that you have options and you got around just fine before Uber. If you're planning on rolling the dice with Uber, just remember that humans are in sync. Restaurants and retails stores know exactly what I mean. Everyone wants that 7:30 dinner reservation but nobody wants dinner at 430. Go to and from your plans against the crowd and you may be able to snag that non surge ride.