Uber in HCMC
 

Tried Uber a couple of times in HCMC so I thought I'd give a quick report.

I tried once at the airport. Driver didn't show up. I tried once more for a trip within HCMC, which was fine.

• Took about 8 or 9 minutes to arrive.
• Even though advertised as Black Car, the car was the same as a normal taxi (Mai Linh or Vinasun).
• Drivers are about the same (English skills are not great).
• No water or other amenities in the car.
• Price was about 20 or 30% cheaper than a normal taxi.

Taxis are easy to find so I doubt I'll use Uber much. If they had nicer cars, I'd probably use it though since I find normal taxis pretty cramped.

I do think it might be useful for some people, particularly if...

• You're looking to save a little money.
• You're off the beaten path, need to call a taxi, and can't speak Vietnamese.
• You're concerned about accurately communicating your destination to the driver. (Uber let's you input the destination into the app).

IMHO, in cities like HCMC and Tokyo where they have very good taxi service, I think there is less need for a service like Uber although I do think there might be a niche for a reliable, premium (black car) service, which is priced at a discount to existing options.

You're better off with GrabTaxi.

Thanks for the Uber report.

I'll be in HCMC in late November and appreciate knowing what to expect from Uber in that location.

Thanks for sharing. A useful report and an interesting problem, war of uber vs traditional taxi not only in France, American but also in HCMC, Vietnam.

I've taken Uber 3 times now in the city. All the drivers shared a common backstory:
- None spoke English.
- All drove cars owned by car companies, who used Uber as their dispatch system.

1) Black Mercedes E-class. Unfortunately the driver decided to park 3 blocks away from my pickup point (when I found him he was having a smoke break... I let him have it), then his GPS guided him to the wrong dropoff point, which I only found out once I got out (right street, just 1.5 miles away).

2) Black Toyota Camry (fully loaded, like a Lexus ES). Good, careful driver.

3) Silver Toyoto Innova (same as the larger 7-pax taxis). Very nice fellow, regular vehicle but clean and no smoke smell.

Advantages of Uber over taxi:
- Lower fares
- On average, nicer, cleaner vehicles
- Charged directly to my US credit card by Uber in USD = no foreign exchange or transaction fees (and this is regardless of country... Uber always charges in USD from SF even though the payment screen is in local currency).

I would absolutely take Uber every time in the city, unless I was in such a rush that I couldn't plan ahead to request an Uber, and the taxi is right in front of me.

One last note about Uber VN: While in other places, calling/texting the driver from your app means a call to a central computer/VoIP system that connects you to whatever driver you have (which means you can save that number to your phone and always call your assigned driver for the current ride), in VN they list the driver's actual cell phone number. Why this important:
- You're calling a local cell phone number, not a US anonymized number.
- The driver will have your actual phone number in their log when you call/text.
- They won't be able to call you if you are still using your foreign number/SIM (or won't want to).

I find Uber useful when arriving in a new country as I don't have to immediately grab some local currency at poor airport rates.

When calling for an Uber car at SGN airport is it easy for the car to pick up from front of terminal?

Is there free wifi at the terminal? Using data roaming on my phone works out quite expensive.

No wifi that I'm aware of. You can buy a SIM at the airport just outside of customs. IME, Uber cars and drivers are not as good as MaiLinh or Vinasun and take longer at the airport.

I fired up the uber app in HCMC and Hanoi and was surprised to see that were cars in both cities. However, with MaiLinh or Vinasun running around I don't really see the need. I did try grabtaxi with a native speaker, and that was so cheap it was down right scary, but I don't think I would have gotten by with just English in that case. As a Western tourist the taxi rates are extremely reasonable, and I have taken at least 50 taxis all over Vietnam and each ride with MaiLinh or Vinasun has been perfect. In a country that a tourist can have trouble in I find the taxi situation there to be quite good.

I used Uber twice for the first time in HCMC yesterday.

- First ride UberX - brand new Kia Rio.
- Second ride UberBlack - Mercedes C class.

There was about a 5-minute wait for both rides. I would definitely use them again if I'm not in a hurry. Clean cars, no smoking odors and no need to worry about change or currency confusion.

Does Uber still list the drivers' personal cell phone numbers?

Uber in HCMC
 

Yes. They're still giving out driver's personal cell numbers. But, even if the driver doesn't speak English, he'll find you based on your exact address and deliver you to the address listed as your destination. Uber is not officially approved in VN, but I hope it doesn't get banned anytime soon.

If you're not fussy on the type of car (and not more than 2 people), I've found UberX to be around 50% cheaper than a taxi. Fair enough, taxis aren't expensive to start with - but if you're on a budget it's a good option.

I understand the limitations leading to why they do it this way in Vietnam, but I don't like it. Had one driver pester me for a few days asking if I needed him to drive me anywhere, especially long distance. Also, a few of the drivers said they didn't want to call a foreign number and drain their SIM cards of value.

I've also had drivers refuse to go to the exact address, but for the most part it's worked well for me, though not well enough to actually pull out my phone vs. hopping into the nearest Vinasun taxi.

I was able connect to free Wifi while in the Int'l terminal.

FYI. My first few Uber requests using a foreign cell number was ignored. Once, I changed to a local SIM. I had no issues getting a driver.

I used UberBLACK a few times in HCMC in January 2015 and one of the trips was unusual to say the least.

The driver (in an SUV) decided to do a wide U-Turn because he passed the address and in the process t-boned a guy on a scooter, crushing the front of the guy's bike.

The driver just drove off (no stop to see if the scooter driver was ok), despite my yelling at him to stop and then took me to my destination (where I proceeded to get out quickly as he clearly was a dangerous driver). Upon receiving my receipt I also realized the driver took me on a bit of a "round-about" route - not nearly direct at all.

I reported this to Uber - I assume they dealt with the driver accordingly.