My Uber ride hit an ambulance

I would consider myself a veteran of public transportation. I’ve been riding trains since the age of twelve when my mother decided it was okay to go to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game with friends or by myself. I don’t really think she thought it was okay; she probably wanted some time away from me and my pals.

As a supposed adult, I lived many years in Chicago proper. Riding trains and buses was easier and cheaper than finding expensive parking for a car. CTA, Pace, Metra taxis…I’ve done them all…a lot.

I even wrote a column called Great Moments in Public Transportation for a few years. It detailed the exploits of dealing with PubTrans and the people who do some strange things while on them. It even included issues on airplanes because when you ride Spirit Airlines to save a few bucks, you know there’s going to be more than a few issues.

So now that my public transportation cred has been established, this morning I was involved with something I never imagined could happen. The Uber in which I was a passenger hit an ambulance. REALLY!

I’ve been on trains where entire cars are filled with people sleeping. I’ve been on a couple of buses where someone with a baby stroller filled with groceries takes the handicapped seats and won’t move for a person in a wheelchair. I even was once on a bus where someone dropped dead in the seat behind me. All of those I figured were normal in the world of public transportation, but this one today…who could see this coming? Certainly, not the Uber driver.

Here are the weird deets…I have an early session at my physical therapy office. I need to get home afterward. It’s less than a ten-minute ride. I hit the Uber app. The car will be there in less than five minutes. Cool!

The driver arrives and I get in the back seat. Also arriving at the same time is an ambulance with its lights flashing. Usually, when you see this, you pull over to the right or at least try to get out of the way…usually. My driver took a different route. He moved forward…straight ahead into the back of the ambulance. Luckily, no one was hurt, but because the ambulance was a city vehicle, the police were called and a report had to be filed.

The driver gave me the option of waiting, but why get involved with the police if you don’t have to? He supposedly canceled the ride; I jumped out and called for another Uber car. It arrived in less than five minutes. As we left the parking lot, I could see the first Uber driver and the ambulance driver outside with a couple of police officers.

Ten minutes later, I was home with no harm/no foul. Okay, maybe a little harm and a small touch foul. I checked my email a little later and there were two receipts from Uber. One for the ride home. Another for the two-foot ride we took into the back of the ambulance. The cost was $4.98. About two-fifty per foot. What a deal!

It almost made me miss the days of people sleeping on the train…almost. Maybe next time I try Lyft?