via

It's a million degrees out and humid. I'd much prefer 10 below, snow, and blowing winds.

I have a BAFTA meeting in midtown. The meeting is at a beautifully appointed brownstone that looks like a private home. I walk in and see this.

I am being asked to consider taking on more responsibilities, and I think this sign is to woo me. Okay, ask me to do anything and I will.  That sign — such a sweet touch I think.  Soon I learn that anyone arriving for a meeting is greeted this way. This does not diminish my appreciation.

The meeting ends and now I must re-enter the inferno outside. My weather app tells me there's an air quality advisory for NYC, though I don't really need an app to know that. Walking even a block is miserable.  So I decide to try Via for the first time.

I had set up an account a while ago and had deposited $50 into it.  I open the app,  type in my location, and am told that a car will pick me up in 3 minutes, a half block from where I am. A black van comes and two very nice passengers are already in it; Via is a shared ride service.  Five minutes later I am dropped off in front of my apartment. No money is passed. I do nothing but say thank you and get out.

So let's see. $2.75 to go underground where the temperature must be close to 100, compete for a seat, find lots of other sweaty people, then walk nine blocks home.  Or, pay $5.44, get a ride in a clean, air-conditioned van, be delivered directly to my front door, and avoid the outside almost entirely.

I think I just became a Via convert.