The joys of getting around

Or: next time, maybe I'll just walk...

I’ve not had the best luck with the local ridesharing company, Pathao. For the benefit of those who aren’t familiar with it, and with apologies to all of you who are, I’d say the main difference between it and something like Uber is that in addition to cars, you can also select a motorbike, which is, in fact, how it’s most often used. When a friend says “I Pathaoed here,” nine times out of ten they’ve taken a bike; the fares are cheaper, and more importantly in dense traffic on narrow roads, they’re much quicker.

I’m rather slow at embracing new technology, as those close to me know all too well, so it took me a while to download the app and figure out how to use it. Even once I did, it still wasn’t smooth sailing. A few times it worked well, but I struggled with it. Once, I discovered I’d gotten off several kilometers from my intended destination, because I’d selected an incorrect but nearly identically named endpoint in an area I wasn’t familiar with. I ended up in a taxi for the last stretch that time, which totally defeated the purpose of taking the Pathao in the first place.

Mostly, I’ve given up on it. Since I usually walk whenever I can, and take the scooter for longer distances, I’m happy to pay the little bit extra for a taxi on the occasional times when I need one.

But hope springs eternal, I guess, and every couple of months, I decide to give Pathao another try. Such was the case last Friday, heading to a friend’s popup bar event. Friday evening is the worst for traffic here in the valley, so a bike was ideal, and the destination was one that would be easy to locate on the app.

After enjoying an evening walk for a bit, I stopped and pulled up the app. It searched for a vehicle for longer than seemed right, but finally I got a call. He wasn’t far at all, but even so took ages to arrive. I came very close to canceling the ride, but by now I was determined to go through with it.

Finally the driver showed up, on a rather old bike. I got on, and before too long asked why we weren’t moving.

It was the Pathao app, he tried to explain. I leaned over his shoulder and realized that we seemed to be equally skilled at technology, as he couldn’t figure out how to register that the ride had started. It wasn’t hard to imagine the likely reason it had taken him to long to reach me when the app had showed him so closeby.

Together, we figured it out, and made our jerky way along. I always prefer a slower driver, but in this case, there seemed to be something very wrong with the gears—or possibly the engine itself—on this old bike, and he alternated between rattling and revving. I have a rattly scooter, too, and that, combined with our mutual ignorance of ridesharing apps, made me feel sympathetic rather than annoyed.

Still, I got off before I had to, glad to be on solid ground again, tipped well, and walked the final stretch. When I looked back, the driver appeared to be once again struggling with the app as he searched for another fare.

Here’s hoping he’s figured it out by now. As for me, I took a taxi home.

**

Note: This week is Tihar, and the city is full of oil lamps, twinkling lights, strings of bright orange marigolds, and mandalas; the header pic is one of the latter in my neighbourhood, and I love this cheerily lit shop, also nearby.