“Hood Uber” driver Cody Van Ransom atop his unofficial rideshare in San Antonio.
Courtesy of Cody Van Ransom
Imagine having an important appointment one morning, but your car won’t start. Or maybe your friend who said they would drive you backed out at the last minute. Without reliable transportation, it’s challenging to do the things you need to do.
You could call an Uber and spend $25 just to get there, but those expenses add up fast. Public transportation is cheaper, sure, but how many transfers will it take – and do you even have the extra time to spare?
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For San Antonians with places to be but no vehicle to get them there, a niche corner of the internet has become a lifeline for getting from point A to point B.
Welcome to “Hood Uber” – an unofficial, community-based rideshare system organized on social media platforms like Facebook. Users can request rides directly from one another, usually for a cheaper rate than it would cost to book a ride on the formal Uber or Lyft app.
There are approximately a dozen San Antonio-based “Hood Uber” and “Hood Lyft” public and private groups that currently exist on Facebook. These groups range from a few hundred users to one that boasts more than 21,000 members. Once a Facebook user joins one of the groups, they can connect with other members through posts or private messages and agree on pickup details and payment.
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For many users, Hood Uber fills gaps left by public transit or the high cost of app-based rideshares, especially for early-morning commutes, short trips to run errands and emergencies.
For example, one Hood Uber member in the Universal City area recently posted that she was looking for someone to take her son to the Frost Bank Center at 6 a.m. for a rodeo competition. Another user posted that he needed a ride to his barber. Another said he was looking for someone to drop him off across town but only had a $20 Starbucks gift card as payment.
Plenty of drivers respond to requests in the comments and ask users to reach out to them via private message to get prices and confirm plans. As local Hood Uber driver Francisco Calvillo said online: “Hood Uber” [is] a taxi service for the less scared. Uber takes 40% of your daily cuts. Hood Uber – 100% cold, hard cash!”
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But why would someone be scared to use Hood Uber? Unlike official Uber, Hood Uber doesn’t have a screening process or background checks for its drivers. Drivers are vulnerable, too, since there are fewer protections when it comes to identity verification and payment methods. Earlier this year, a 27-year-old man working as a Hood Uber driver was shot in the shoulder after his passenger refused to pay for his ride on the city’s West Side.
Hood Uber driver Ashley Cordero took a couple of weeks off after she heard about the shooting but is now back on the road. A restaurant manager, Cordero drives on her days off to help supplement her income. She uses the extra money she earns for groceries and gas.
“I’m always safe because I always have something on me,” Cordero, 30, told MySA during a recent interview. “I’m a daughter and a mom, so I don’t have time to get into that. But I love money. I’m a street hustler, so I do what I gotta do.”
Tonda Red Horse Scott has been a member of the San Antonio Hood Uber group on Facebook for two months. She applied to be a driver on the official Uber app, but she was rejected because of her criminal background. Scott said that in today’s economy, people are looking for ways to save money, so she is glad she can help them out.
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“It’s very convenient because prices are so high everywhere,” Scott, 46, told MySA. “Everybody’s looking to save a dollar. As a community of drivers, if we’re able to help that process, that’s a win-win.”
Scott, who drives every day from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. except on Sundays when she goes to church, has not had problems with riders not paying. She asks for payment before the trip begins and accepts hard cash or payment through mobile apps like Venmo. Maybe it’s the Bible sitting on her passenger seat or the small altar in her car featuring Baby Jesus and a lamb that discourages people from trying to stiff her.
“Everybody who gets in my car can tell that I’m a woman of God, so they don’t try to pull anything,” she said. “The Lord fights my battles every day and protects me from harm – seen and unseen.”