Originally Posted by
Flying Lawyer
It has been explained so often to you, but you do not want to comprehend: In Berlin you got what you would call a limo in the US or a minicab in the UK. Or as you wrote "but a typical car and driver like one would find in the USA howbeit better cleaner Mercedes and a courteous driver.". Our system calls these services "Mietwagen". They are not generally regulated. They offer fixed fares or alternative arrangements, in Berlin probably the double of what you would have paid for a taxi.
As I did not write a detailed report at the time, I can only recall general perceptions that include the notion the Uber price in Berlin was less than an available taxi from/to my hotel. The same was reported by a friend of mine who lives in Frankfurt and had used Uber in his travels in more than one city in Germany.
One of the issues for me is that I go to so many countries that I lose every time I convert USD to a local currency. I would much rather use a cc and deal with the conversion fees rather than ending up with a handful of currency that is not useful in the next country. I average 7-8 countries a year and that is spread across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe.