“It’ll be ten minutes”, said the despatcher.

30 minutes later I call the cab office: “It’s been half an hour and I’m still waiting.”

“They’re in XXX gardens, and will be with you in 5 minutes.”

“Well if they aren’t I’m walking instead.”

“I can assure you they’ll be there in 5 minutes.”

9 minutes later the driver calls: “I’m 2 minutes away.”

“Sorry, you’re too late, I’ve started walking”.

I’d have been happier if the cab firm had said it was going to be forty minutes at the start.   Then I could have made my decision to walk instead immediately.   What irked me was the breaking of a promise made.  The feeling of being lied to.   As a result the driver missed out on a fare and wasted a journey.

“Should’ve got an Uber“, you say.

Maybe.

The way Uber solves this problem for the customer is to have a surplus of cabs available in the area.  That means drivers are systematically under-employed.   Which might mean it’s harder to earn a decent living.  I’m not sure I want promises kept to me at the expense of the people doing the work.

Which is why in the end, I prefer travelling under my own steam.