You might as well cut out the middleman and call a cab or use an app such as MyTaxi

Uber only acts as a broker of limo services in Germany. You are better off using mydriver or mytaxi, it will save you 10+%.

In Berlin uber partners with some (or one) of the local taxi corporations and you do not pay more if you use uber than if you call a taxi or use MyTaxi. However using uber has the advantage of earning starpoints if you stay in a SPG hotel. The rate from the Sheraton to Gendarmenmarkt was nearly the same using uber or MyTaxi with an advantage of 0.90 EUR for MyTaxi

...and MyTaxi has the advantage of earning M&M!

correct - but I offered this opportunit to my colleague paying for the return ride :D

You're not cutting out the middle man cost, just paying it to someone else. I hardly ever call cabs now, just use apps.

Most of my visits are 1 or 2 days on business and although I have MyTaxi I don't need to clutter my phone with multiple apps to cover every country.

You cut out the middle man because mytaxi adds - different from Uber - no premium to the taxi fare.

By using MyTaxi I cut out the middleman.

I just used Uber today in Berlin. This did not involve a taxi, but a typical car and driver like one would find in the USA howbeit better cleaner Mercedes and a courteous driver.

One of my Frankfurt friends said that traditional Uber is now available in 2 German cities.

Nope, still only limited to being an agency of regular taxi in Berlin and an agent of limo services in Berlin and Munich:

https://static.giga.de/wp-content/up...rcm992x463.jpg

I made the mistake to use Uber X in Düsseldorf. Like in other places on this globe, they quoted me a (good) flat fare in the App, EUR 5,55, which was close to half of the taxi price I know pretty well (EUR 9,00). In the end I received however an Uber invoice per Email, charging me a base fare of 2 EUR and extras for time an milegage. From what I would guess exactly the fare based to the citycouncil's directive for "Mietwagen" and close to double the EUR 5,55. For that result I had to wait close to 10 minutes and sat in an old Toyota. I did not get a VAT invoice, to could not reclaim the 7% included in taxi fare. At the end the old Toyota was more expensive than a regular taxi. No need to do that again but a need to make that public to warn others.

Wired! Normally a Mietwagen is 19% VAT compared to a Taxi with 7%. So especially annoying.

There was no VAT whatsoever stated so a taxi would have been an additional 7 percent cheaper for me (because taxi VAT is 7%)

This is just a cash receipt and not a VAT invoice (which makes a difference of 19%)