Uber in Germany
 

Hi all,

Any feedback or experiences with Uber car service in Germany? I've only used them in the US but will be traveling to Munich and Frankfurt soon, and would like to know how it went for you? Was the phone app easy to use, no language issues, etc? Thanks for any tips and suggestions!

At the moment Uber is forbidden in Germany so I doubt you can use it.

But what about Über? :p

They're in deep trouble with authorities in Germany because their drivers are neither trained, licensed, insured nor paid properly and they do not meet neither security nor business regulations. All this is no recommendation to ever use them. Their services are currently banned, the final court decision is to be expected.

They announced to ignore the court-order today. Could be funny in the future.... As they seem to send you under circumstances totally unlicenced vehicles in Germany, I would never use it.

I think Uber in the USA makes perfectly sense. Taxi service in most cities the US is horrible. I lived in San Francisco for six months and I have never seen such an unreliable, disorganized and mismanaged taxi service ever. Even in Kuala Lumpur or Saigon the service was better and more reliable.

In Germany the taxi service is well regulated and in the upper most cases very efficient. With the introduction of the very very good MyTaxi App it even entered the 21st century.

I addition you as a guest have certain rights when using a licensed taxi and you are insured when on board a taxi. With Uber it is just between you and the driver and god knows what happens if you get hurt in an accident.

To answer LR2013 question. If you are looking for a service you can order via an app take a look at the mytaxi app which is available for iOS and Android.

Yikes, I wasn't aware of Uber's current status with German authorities and the issues with unlicensed vehicles, thanks for the heads up. Uber's web site has German cities listed and will quote fares from point to point, so I thought they would be a handy alternative to cabs. My last Uber transaction was in San Francisco, and it went SO MUCH better than taking a cab, which has always been a ghastly experience in SF, as caspritz78 states. Glad I thought to ask about Germany and not assume it would be ok. :eek:

Thanks so much for the tip, I will definitely look into the my taxi app.

Current second level court ruling forbids Uber service in Germany and places a penalty of up to 250.000 euro per single case of breach. That despite this ruling Uber still operates in Germany is mind bogling IMO...

I just used Uber Black in Netherlands and contrary to some of the misinformation posted here, Uber Black drivers are licensed and have insurance. It's Uber X/Uber Pop cars that you have to be concerned about. The experience that I had with Black was fantastic & I'll use it exclusively in any city that has it in the future. One of the Black drivers told me that he has a regular taxi service and he makes a lot more money driving Uber fares than his regular service. 80% of his business now comes from Uber and he is extremely happy with the money he makes from them.

To those of you who say that you would never use Uber, how many times have you used Black?

Yes the court banned UberPoP and not UberBlack in Germany. Still I don't see a reason to use UberBlack in Germany. A quick price comparison between UberBlack and taxis in Frankfurt.

UberBlack:
Initial fare: 4,50€
Fare: 0,40€ per minute plus 1,15€ per km
Minimum Fare: 9€

Taxi:
Initial fare: 2,80€ (6am-10pm) 3,30€ (10pm-6am)
Fare (6am-10pm): 1,75 up to 12km, 1,60 from 12 to 20km, 1,55 from 21km
Fare (10pm-6am): 1,85 up to 12km, 1,75 from 12 to 20km, 1,70 from 21km

Example calculation:
Drive from Westin Frankfurt to the airport. According to Googlemaps 12km and 20 minutes.

UberBlack: 26,30€
Taxi (6am-10pm): 23,80€
Taxi (10pm-6am): 25,50€

Result: Taxi is cheaper unless the UberBlack driver drives like crazy and gets you there under 18minutes.

I always find it fascinating when people criticize something, i.e., a product or service such as UberBlack, without having any direct, real world experience with it.

The €2.50 maximum difference & €.80 minimum difference that was pointed out is insignificant to me, especially in light of the great service I experienced with UberBlack. Even with the "higher" cost differential, I would choose Uber.

Still waiting to hear from someone with actual experience with UberBlack in Germany or Europe.

I pretty much agree with everything caspritz says. I use myTaxi all the time and it's great. I would never consider Uber in Germany (or anywhere else in Europe). What's the point?

An amusingly rhetorical question, however, to put a cap on it - Whatever floats your boat, or in this case, taxi. There are always choices to be made in life. :)

Uber in Germany
 

I've never used Uber in Germany and I'd be interested in getting feedback from recent users. I tried to use it in Hamburg two weeks ago, but the car took forever to show up and I subsequently cancelled it. I tried it repeatedly but it was always the same problem. I'd like to use them this weekend at MUC airport, but I'm wondering if I'll encounter the same issues.

The legal situation of Uber (especially UberPop) in Germany is dubious at best.

I'm aware of that but that's not what I asked... ;)

I'm rather surprised by the possibility to call an Uber Pop driver via the app in Germany. Uber and the driver would have to face substantial penalties if authorities catch them offering their services IMO or if some person would alert the authorities after witnessing the situation... IIRC the court has issued a ruling with a 250k € penalty if Uber would act against the ruling.

UberPOP wasn't even on offer in Hamburg. Only UberX.
Maybe I should add that my enquiry is only regading UberX and UberBlack.

With the new restrictions on Uber, it is essentially equivalent to myDriver or Blacklane, where authorised limo operators flog their spare capacities.

Is Lyft operating in Germany? (I prefer them, they treat the workers better)

I used them quite heavily last weekend in Munich and it worked perfectly (both UberX and UberBlack).

My brother, his wife and I used it in Berlin back in July. The car arrived quickly and was a new Mercedes. The driver was great and got us to our destination quickly. Mind you it was also nearly 100F outside and we couldn't find a cab so being able to get Uber was a lifesaver.

Question. I fly into Stuttgart on a Monday night and stay at the Holiday Inn by the airport.

I have a 11.00am meeting the next morning at the mercedes factory at Affalterbach which I am told is at least 30km from the airport and with current road constructions on the highways and traffic jams can delay the drive to the factory.

I am also on a budget so I am asking if it makes sense to take a train into downtown Stuttgart and then to Affalterbach and then get a taxi to the factory and back to the station by taxi and then take the train back to Stuttgart and then by 2-3pm to take a train to munich.

Or is it just more practical to rent a car?

I need to be in munich by 5.30pm as we need to get to the Allianz Arena by 8.00pm.

Moved out of Stuttgart in 2010, so experience a bit dated, but I think it's unlikely the road-traffic situation has improved at all.

Airport is in the very south, AMG up north - which means either taking a bigger detour to avoid the city and rushhour ploughing into it - or face that two ways.

S-Bahn airport/Kirchberg is 1h15m, Kirchberg/mainstation 45m. ICE (express to Munich) is 2h15m leaving hourly (15:19 one should fit your goal).
Kirchberg is outpost-ish so dont expect to walk up to a waiting taxi, better prearrange by Uber or the aforementioned myTaxi-app -- or ask the host to pick you up in Kirchberg or Backnang?

HTH and have a safe trip

Once again, there is no Uber in Germany. I would rent a car at the airport. It's much less hassle. How do you plan to get to Munich?

Thanks for the information mate. Appreciate it.

Yes, will have to go that route I think. No other real choices especially if I want to get to Munich by evening. Just not looking forward to the traffic jams.

My guess is that you're looking at the better part of three hours to Munich from there. A8 has a few construction sites and traffic may be an issue as it's holiday time.

Yes, I had a quick look last night and it's unavoidable. Oh well, better to know in advance than leave the Merc factory late and then end up getting into Munich later than we had hoped with all that construction and traffic.

Oh well...hopefully the sun will be out and it will be a good week. :)

What happened? I last used Uber in Munich just two weeks ago.

It's linked to cab companies but works off your phone app same as it does anywhere else. Or used to as recently as 13 July 2017.

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:

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