kajonesbu

I am a big user of Uber in the US however have not used it abroad. Will be in Paris over the weekend and would like to give it a shot. Has anyone used it in Paris? Does it function the same as the US? How are the fares?

Tamino

Uber works in Paris virtually the same as anywhere else. Fares are generally comparable to taxi fares.

Many prefer Uber over taxis because:

1. There is no dispatch fee (taxi companies charge 4€ to call a taxi for immediate pickup, 7€ to schedule pickup).
2. The price is known in advance.

Others prefer taxis over Uber because:

1. Taxis have no surge pricing.
2. Taxis have access to bus lanes getting you to your destination much faster in traffic. Anyone else caught using a bus lane pays a 135€ fine.

Taxis now charge fixed prices between either CDG or ORY and Paris. From CDG to the Left/Right Bank is 55€/50€ respectively; from ORY 30€/35€ respectively. Finding an Uber pickup point at one of the airports can be problematic.

Taxi drivers, much like Uber drivers, are not tipped.

Goldorak

Uber works very well in Paris. Do not hesitate to use them anywhere, including to/from the airports, so you don't have to fight with those stupid taxis and their reluctance/refusal to accept credit cards and all their other scams.

Uber is significantly cheaper than a regular taxi.

Tamino

I think that a lot of people in Paris used to think so but I find that the trend here now is toward taxis use or other VTCs. I still use Uber but primarily late at night or over very short distances when there is no traffic.

ShopAround

I used it a few times when I was in Paris last December. Worked the same as in the U.S. Very easy and I thought the fares were reasonable.

ckendall

I used Uber Pop quite a bit last month and it was considerably cheaper than taxis.

Tamino

That´s quite a feat as Uber Pop was banned in France as of January 2015.

ckendall

Sorry, it was UberX and UberPool (used to be Uber Pop).

joejones

I used Uber a few times in Paris around the end of 2015, and it worked great. I had one driver who got lost and circled around CDG a few times trying to find his way to T1, but it's a flat fare to and from the airport so the cost was on the driver...

JOUY31

I usually compare the G7 and Uber apps. My personal experience:

At peak times, Uber can be more expensive than G7.

On itineraries such as La Défense to central Paris, Uber is seldom cheaper than G7.

Last week, as I had a lot of baggage, I was looking for a taxi between Nanterre Ville and Nanterre Université (one stop by RER). Uber came out above EUR 50, while G7 wanted to charge EUR 17 ...

I never had a problem with G7 using a credit card.

Goldorak

Are you kidding?
Even 17 seems expensive for such a trip

JOUY31

Nope ! Ultimately, my (unfortunate) colleagues got to help me on the RER

keisari

I used Uber a few times last year in Paris. Overall I had a very good experience.
One advantage of Uber is that I don't need cash. The other is that the driver takes a computer set path vs taxi drivers that many times get lost (on purpose or not who knows).
Keep in mind that you must have cell connection if you want to track the arrival of the car.
I did not have cell connection and relied on wifi when ordering the car but then sometimes could not see that the car is delayed.

Tamino

I have never had a taxi driver in Paris take me other than by the most expeditious route to my destination. You are absolutely within your right to dictate the route you prefer. If you do not know the optimal route to your destination, how can you authoritatively state that a driver didn´t either and that he was lost?

ckendall

The difference is that with Uber the price does matter on the route the driver takes; I had a taxi ride where the driver got stuck and changed routes (probably all legit, but who knows) and the ride ended up costing around 20E. An Uber ride was about half that much.