And then: last Thursday. At 4:15 I called a cab to pick me up at work and take me to BART where, in my perfectly worked out world, I would get on a train headed for the airport, get on my plane which left at 6:20 and land in Portland, Oregon for a dream 2 day summer vacation. At 4:30, my cab had not yet arrived. I called another company and they said it would be at least 20 minutes before they could get me a cab. The first company sent me a robocall saying they couldn't actually pick me up, sorry, not sorry. I felt a little panicky. Clearly at this point I would be taking a cab the whole way to the airport, if not the whole way to Oregon. I really didn't want to miss my flight. So standing on the sidewalk outside of work, I found Lyft on the app store and downloaded it. Six minutes later, a really nice woman with CANDY picked me up.

There are good and bad things about Lyft, in terms of the actual experience of riding it, even taking politics out of the equation. Candy, for one, is always good. My driver was really nice and didn't seem bothered by my insistent questions about how much she actually made and how the taxes would work out at the end of the year. Also, because we were going to the airport and she didn't want to get harassed, she took the pink mustache off, which meant I didn't have to deal with that humiliation. Also, the cost was reasonable. On the other hand, if you don't like talking to people, this isn't the ride you want to take. And my driver did say something so insanely politically incorrect I was surprised speechless. That, mixed with the amount people probably do get paid (enough but still not enough) and the looming tax question that I am still not sure about (if someone is making a tax-free living wage right now, what happens when they are taxed?), made me think that the system is still built on a basic inequality and that the drivers are not hipster kids on a lark from SF who were raised in obnoxious enclaves with PC police but working class people from the Bay who are trying to feed families, just like most taxi drivers.

After I got dropped off at the airport and paid my reasonable fare and made it to my gate in time to change into shorts for summer in Portland, I took stock of my first Lyft ride. Though it might seem strange and remotely "disruptive" right now, Lyft isn't all that different from a taxi company and might be the future of the industry. It's convenient and personal and I actually got a timely, affordable ride in one, which no taxi company in SF seemed able to provide for me on a Thursday afternoon for any price. The accountability of both rider and driver feels safe. The not feeling guilty about not having cash is great. But a couple things will have to change if Lyft and its pals are going to replace taxis throughout the country: they are going to have to make sure they are sustainable career for their drivers and not just a quick cheap solution for the people who they drive around. And they are seriously going to have to get rid of the horrible pink mustache.

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Behind the Pink Mustache: Is Lyft Good, Evil or Something Else Entirely?