CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — Uber, the popular peer-to-peer ridesharing company, is now available in Clarion.

Uber Technologies Inc., founded in 2009, is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has operations in 633 cities worldwide, and now, its services are available in Clarion.

The ridesharing giant’s platforms are accessed via either its website or its mobile app, with the mobile app often being the more popular platform. Uber offers various service levels; the current service available in Clarion is UberX, a service option which allows people to get a ride with an Uber driver in a non-luxury vehicle.

Riders access the platform and are quoted the fare that they will pay before actually requesting the ride. Uber uses a dynamic pricing model; this means prices vary based not only on projected time and distance but also vary by time of day and the supply and demand for rides at the particular time the ride is requested. At the end of a ride, payment is made based on the rider’s pre-selected preferences, which could be a credit card on file, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, or cash. After the ride is over, the rider is also given the option to provide a tip to the driver, which is billed to the rider’s preferred payment method, as well.

Uber drivers are considered independent contractors, not employees; they use their own personal vehicles and choose when they are available to drive. To become a driver, they must show proof of a valid driver’s license, registration, appropriate insurance, and pass a background check. Drivers must also have a smartphone to operate the necessary app.

After utilizing Uber as a rider while visiting friends in Cleveland, Clarion native Malorie McFarland decided to sign up as a driver and bring Uber back to Clarion.

“Whenever we’re going on a night out somewhere that has the Uber service available, we always utilize it to have a fun night out without worries about how we’re going to get there or get home,” McFarland told exploreClarion.com.

“It instantly clicked that Clarion needed this service because while we have a local bus and taxi, neither one runs late at night, and we are a college town, so it makes sense to have an option for a safe ride home after a night out.”

McFarland currently works full-time as a medical assistant at Cascade Restorative Medical Arts in Brookville, but she decided that she could also drive for Uber in the evenings and weekends. She signed up as a driver several months ago, but after turning on the app regularly and getting no ride requests, it became apparent that people simply weren’t aware the service was even available in the Clarion area. That’s when she took to social media to spread the word.

McFarland currently plans to regularly be available for ride requests on Friday and Saturday nights, and she does have some availability for other times. Since drivers have to be signed into the Uber app to accept ride requests, she says the best way to communicate with her is to direct message the Clarion UBER Facebook page that she created.

Though McFarland is the first Uber driver to start advertising widely and offering regular availability in the Clarion area, it turns out that she isn’t the first Uber driver in the area.

Scott Courtney, Clarion University’s Athletic Events and Promotions Coordinator, has been driving for Uber since October of 2016.

“My work schedule is pretty busy. I just like to drive and thought it would be fun,” Courtney told exploreClarion.com.

Courtney shared an adventure that he had last year as an Uber driver. He turned on his Uber driver app one quiet Friday night, and around 7:00 p.m., someone requested a ride. He swiped to accept without looking at the requested destination. It wasn’t until he was picking up two riders — and their luggage — that he realized the destination was Shaker Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, a 130+ mile drive from Clarion. The riders’ vehicle was disabled. Unwilling to leave anyone stranded, Courtney made the drive.

John Amoroso, another local resident, has also been driving for Uber on an irregular basis for the last two years or so. He told exploreClarion.com that as he formerly worked for Kmart, he is planning on being available to drive more often since the store has closed.

For more information on Uber, visit https://www.uber.com.