Americans Abroad Ubering!

Walking in Rome from Janiculum Hill, a quiet residential neighborhood, to nearby Trastevere, with its restaurants and nightlife, can be challenging. You must walk through a forest path and down two hundred stairs, where you reach a dilapidated trolley that may or may not be on time to take you the final distance. That's an hour to Trastevere, which is only a mile away, as the corvo flies. In August, when the heat soars into triple digits, it can feel like the Italian sun is searing your flesh; going anywhere by foot can be excruciating, especially with grandparents and kids in tow. Taxis can be hard to find on Janiculum Hill, particularly on Sundays. The bus may or may not come. Hence, most Italians are home taking siestas. 

Throwback photo, Gia cooling off at a fountain in Rome, Italy. 2010

Or, you can Uber to Trastevere in six minutes. Ubering around Rome is expensive, but we were not doing it forever, and we were on time and fresh wherever we went — as opposed to sweaty, grumpy, and lost. After enjoying around ten air-conditioned and luxurious Uber rides in Rome in Agosto, we pulled up to a traffic light and noticed a sign: UBER IS ILLEGAL IN ROME. We were shocked! Because Uber is everywhere in Rome. Like flies on a pie, I saw the vehicles moving around on my Uber app. 

I leaned forward and asked the driver about this er, slightly delicate problem.  

"Scusa Signore,  è Uber illegale a Roma?"                                           

"Si, it’s complicated," he said without shame.

The author and her daughters waiting for an Uber in Janiculum Hill, Rome, Italy. 2018.

I quickly Googled "fines for using Uber in Rome." Because let's just say that we know firsthand about Italian fines. For example, if you buy a fake Prada bag from a vendor selling them on an Italian beach,  you can receive a 10,000 Euro fine. That's $12,000. There's also a fine if you drive too fast. Without realizing it, you can return home and, due to street cameras, receive a ticket in the mail from the Polizia Italiana setting you back 600 Euros. We had been Ubering around Rome in American cars for three weeks—large, shiny, new, black SUVs, on narrow, cobbled streets. I was suddenly worried. And also, I felt like a new thing: Was I setting a new standard for ugliness?  An Ugly American Abroad Ubering? 

"Can we get in trouble?" I asked our driver. Because in Italy, things can have two or more meanings.
            "No, not at all!" he reassured us. "It's only illegal to some." Hmmm! I noticed he had a phone and a dispatch person talking to him so rapidly I could not follow. It was like a taxi dispatch.

We chatted a bit about Uber in Rome, and then he told me a chilling story. "In May, I had a fare at the train station, and two guys got in. They told me to pull the car over, and they took bats out of their pant legs and put a sack over my head."

I glanced at my mother and daughters in the back of the SUV. I suddenly felt slightly nauseous. 

The driver continued: "They told me to keep the sack on my head. I heard them get out, and then I heard bashing sounds, the car shaking, the glass fell all over me. They were beating the car. They smashed it up. The taxi drivers in Rome do not like Uber."
            He glanced at me in the rearview mirror.  

"That's crazy! I'm so glad you weren't hurt! So, er, is this your new car?" I asked him. 
            Our driver whistled softly. "No, I do not own this car. I did not own the other car." 
            This was puzzling. But I asked, "Are we safe Ubering around Rome?"
            "Oh, yes, it's safe. No one knows who we are."

No one knows? We are in an American-made-at-a-Chinese-plant-Ford-Suburban-in-Rome-Italy.         Sorry, but they all must know at least what we are! Ugly Americans Abroad Ubering! I suddenly felt like I could be part of Donald Trump's presidential motorcade. Except even he, our unabashedly rude President, walked around Taormina on foot when he visited Sicily. That's the best way to travel in Italy, by the way.

 Then I had a flash of realization. "Oh, wow! Does the mafia own this car?"
            "It is very delicate," the driver said. "I cannot say."

Taxi Drivers protesting Uber. Rome, Italy. 2017

We continued to Uber because we were unsure of the actual situation and still had trouble getting cabs. Our next Uber driver took us on a different path to Trastevere from Janiculum. My curiosity piqued, so I struck up a conversation.
        "Nice car," I said.
        "Yes. American," he said.
        "Do you like working for yourself?" I asked him.
        "Myself?" he asked, looking at me in the mirror.
        "Yes, you know, you have your own Uber business."
        "Myself?" he turned and looked at me.
        "Yes, your own car? And your own Uber business?"
        "I do not own my car. It is too expensive."
        "Oh. We have a different business model in San Francisco. Uber drivers use their own cars." I wanted him to know this. 
        He glanced back at me, shocked. "They own their cars?"
        "Yes, that's what makes Uber special. Each person works only for herself."
        He stopped and turned around and looked at me. "How?"
        "Well, that's what it's all about. That's why it's different than a taxi. It is for the individual, independent of a company," I explained.
        "I want to go to the USA. As soon as my son is done with school, I will go. Do you think I can drive Uber there?"
        "I would imagine if you have a work Visa? Who owns this car?"
        He shook his head slowly. "I don't know."

The next Uber I took was to the same place, Trastevere (where my daughter lived), and a completely new and different route was taken for my six-minute drive. I was surprised when a woman in a gold Jaguar pulled up. 
        "Bella macchina!" I said, getting into the back seat of the Uber. 
        She said nothing, just smiled at me.
        I noticed a small dent in the door, and inside, the car was not sparkling and new, but it was nice. I looked at her dashboard, and there was no second phone used for dispatch. No one called her. Opera played softly on her radio. She had the Uber app pulled up on her iPhone and followed the directions to my destination. There was a necklace hanging from the rearview mirror.  I did not have to ask her anything to understand that this was very likely her car, and that she figured out how to use Uber as it was intended. 

    

Next, we will try out Uber Eats, Italy. Just as soon as the Pandemic leaves us all alone! Until then, we can dream...

Uber Eats Italy, contemplating The Spanish Steps, Rome, Italy, 2020.

    
       




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