UBER around the world
#31




Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Southern California
Programs: UA 1K/2.2MM, Marriott Titanium & LT Platinum, Avis PC, Hertz PC
Posts: 716
Lisbon, Portugal- Used UberX several times from downtown including the airport. Each time the car arrived in less than 5 minutes. Price ranged from €4 to €8 for downtown to airport.
London, UK- Used UberX in the pouring rain from Liverpool Street station to Tower Pier around Ł6.
Rome, Italy- Used Uber Black (no UberX in Rome area) from Termini Station to Vatican €14.
London, UK- Used UberX in the pouring rain from Liverpool Street station to Tower Pier around Ł6.
Rome, Italy- Used Uber Black (no UberX in Rome area) from Termini Station to Vatican €14.
#32
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: MAN/BHX
Programs: ABBA
Posts: 6,027
I always get a normal taxi to somewhere near Bugis, it's about $20-25. I find that UberX isn't that much cheaper than flagging down a taxi (and sometimes more expensive), but it's far more convenient.
Last time, due to the amount of luggage I had, I took something from the "ground transportation" desk - $50 for a large car, which didn't even fit all our luggage in. Wife + 2 children, and most of the bags/car seats/prams/etc.
I took a normal taxi to Hougang, having waited for one advertising accepting credit cards. Got there, and his machine was "broken". I gave him a US$20 as I had not SG currency. Sigh. Uber is far superior. The return trip in I tried Uber from Changi a couple of months ago, and couldn't find out where the guy was -- the GPS showed him on top of me, but which floor was anyone's guess.
On the way back I booked one uberxl and one ubertaxi -- $18 for the XL, and fit a ton of baggage in.
I spent July commuting in Singapore with uberx, ubertaxi, uberxl, uberexec. 48 trips over 30 days, about S$500 worth. Took about 8 taxis in that time as well.
Had one issue - Uber broke during the trip, the trip just vanished from the drivers phone, and I couldn't even connect to it from my phone. Driver phoned up a friend, who was also having problems. The driver wouldn't take cash, despite him having no idea if it would get paid for the trip.
The fare charged OK later on, at $18 (estimate was about that), however a week later I had an email refunding me, so I've only paid $5. I've disputed this fare, as it should have been $18.
In those 48 trips I gave 1 3-star -- driver had similar hygiene issues as an average NYC cab. Rest got 4 or 5 stars.
Last time, due to the amount of luggage I had, I took something from the "ground transportation" desk - $50 for a large car, which didn't even fit all our luggage in. Wife + 2 children, and most of the bags/car seats/prams/etc.
I took a normal taxi to Hougang, having waited for one advertising accepting credit cards. Got there, and his machine was "broken". I gave him a US$20 as I had not SG currency. Sigh. Uber is far superior. The return trip in I tried Uber from Changi a couple of months ago, and couldn't find out where the guy was -- the GPS showed him on top of me, but which floor was anyone's guess.
On the way back I booked one uberxl and one ubertaxi -- $18 for the XL, and fit a ton of baggage in.
I spent July commuting in Singapore with uberx, ubertaxi, uberxl, uberexec. 48 trips over 30 days, about S$500 worth. Took about 8 taxis in that time as well.
Had one issue - Uber broke during the trip, the trip just vanished from the drivers phone, and I couldn't even connect to it from my phone. Driver phoned up a friend, who was also having problems. The driver wouldn't take cash, despite him having no idea if it would get paid for the trip.
The fare charged OK later on, at $18 (estimate was about that), however a week later I had an email refunding me, so I've only paid $5. I've disputed this fare, as it should have been $18.
In those 48 trips I gave 1 3-star -- driver had similar hygiene issues as an average NYC cab. Rest got 4 or 5 stars.
#34




Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold, Hertz PC, National Exec
Posts: 6,736
#35




Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Montreal
Posts: 599
I tried UberX in Bucharest, Romania. The pricing is basically the same as the cheapest taxi rates. However, I found BlackCab, the largest local taxi app, much better as the cars were bigger and better for the same price as Uber. As well, the drivers all had regular taxi licences as well.
The local cabs were just functional. The taxi drivers basically spoke no English at all and the cars are older Dacias.
The local cabs were just functional. The taxi drivers basically spoke no English at all and the cars are older Dacias.
#36
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 886
Medellin - Since few taxi drivers knew where our hotel was (even after explaining in Spanish), we fell into the habit of taking a taxi from our hotel to our destination and Uber back to the hotel, since the driver could just use the GPS. We used UberBlack almost all of the time (with the exceptions of one solo trip I took without my wife and the trip from the hotel to the airport, since we were leaving at 4 am and UberX was the only option) and it was usually within one or two USD of what we'd have paid for a taxi. Roughly 50% of the UberBlack drivers spoke English, none of the UberX drivers spoke English, all had clean, comfortable cars.
#37




Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: AA exp, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 225
Bali - only Black here, using Toyota Avanza and Innova. No surge pricing yet and can pick up from airport.
Jakarta - UberX and Black available. UberX mainly using Toyota Avanza or Nissan Livina, but one time got Toyota Innova. Black using Toyota Innova. Also can pick up from airport, their pricing is cheaper than normal taxi.
Jakarta - UberX and Black available. UberX mainly using Toyota Avanza or Nissan Livina, but one time got Toyota Innova. Black using Toyota Innova. Also can pick up from airport, their pricing is cheaper than normal taxi.
Jakarta is unbelievably cheap in an UberX - IDR 39,000 (US$3) for a 40 minute ride across town. IDR 72,500 (US$5.50) to the airport from near MONAS with light traffic. Bluebird is twice as expensive.
Bogota UberX - super easy, clean cars, inexpensive compared to local taxis.
Vienna - Mercedes E-class showed up when I called for an UberX, only downside is that there aren't as many cars running around so wait times are a bit long.
Milan - Nothing particularly noteworthy about Uber service but since the local taxis are terrible, it seems nicer by comparison.
#38
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 119
I would like to use Uber in Paris to visit all the sights within 2 hrs. Can anyone recommend the best way to do this as Uber only allows A to B, rather than A to B to C to E etc?
I would like to replicate the Open top bus tour routes using Uber, starting from my hotel.
I would like to replicate the Open top bus tour routes using Uber, starting from my hotel.
#39




Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: The Embassy
Posts: 678
I have asked Uber drivers to take me on tours before, such as in Washington DC, and it's worked fine.
#40
Original Poster




Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: ASIA
Programs: TK Elite, ALL Plus Diamond, Marriott Platinum, Hertz PC
Posts: 3,536
Once in the cab, you can change your destination to where you want to head to next.
What you can't do, is key in location "A" as your final destination when you want to head back. Best is to then either let the driver just take you back, or key in a location close by if he doesnt know the way.
#41




Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: DL, UA, AA, B6, 2V, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt
Posts: 6,131
Uber's customer service (if it's any different from the way they're handled here in the US) is complete and utter garbage.
I was in the UK, and tried to change the phone number in the app to my UK number. It wouldn't take it, so I contacted them about the problem. They got back to me three days later saying that I could do it myself. It wasn't in broken English, so it may or may not be the customer support center in Manila, but the response was clear that they didn't read my message, and didn't care.
I referred a friend to Uber to get us a free ride. My friend had a Netherlands phone number (we were both in the UK at the time) and it gave him a UK free ride credit, but would only give me one in USD, and it would not apply while I was in the UK.
Uber is great when it works. Their customer service is a joke.
I was in the UK, and tried to change the phone number in the app to my UK number. It wouldn't take it, so I contacted them about the problem. They got back to me three days later saying that I could do it myself. It wasn't in broken English, so it may or may not be the customer support center in Manila, but the response was clear that they didn't read my message, and didn't care.
I referred a friend to Uber to get us a free ride. My friend had a Netherlands phone number (we were both in the UK at the time) and it gave him a UK free ride credit, but would only give me one in USD, and it would not apply while I was in the UK.
Uber is great when it works. Their customer service is a joke.
#42
FlyerTalk Evangelist



Join Date: May 2000
Location: Little dot in Asia
Programs: AA-PP, HL-DM, MR-LTP, HY-LTG
Posts: 26,017
Uber's customer service (if it's any different from the way they're handled here in the US) is complete and utter garbage.
I was in the UK, and tried to change the phone number in the app to my UK number. It wouldn't take it, so I contacted them about the problem. They got back to me three days later saying that I could do it myself. It wasn't in broken English, so it may or may not be the customer support center in Manila, but the response was clear that they didn't read my message, and didn't care.
I referred a friend to Uber to get us a free ride. My friend had a Netherlands phone number (we were both in the UK at the time) and it gave him a UK free ride credit, but would only give me one in USD, and it would not apply while I was in the UK.
Uber is great when it works. Their customer service is a joke.
I was in the UK, and tried to change the phone number in the app to my UK number. It wouldn't take it, so I contacted them about the problem. They got back to me three days later saying that I could do it myself. It wasn't in broken English, so it may or may not be the customer support center in Manila, but the response was clear that they didn't read my message, and didn't care.
I referred a friend to Uber to get us a free ride. My friend had a Netherlands phone number (we were both in the UK at the time) and it gave him a UK free ride credit, but would only give me one in USD, and it would not apply while I was in the UK.
Uber is great when it works. Their customer service is a joke.
Customer Service is in the city where they operate from. The London Customer Service centre handles drivers in London and the Manchester Centre handles their drivers in Manchester.
I have had good responses and even got a refund for a ride when the driver took a very long route and got lost.
Your free ride is dependant on where your original service was registered. I have a UK account and I am currently in Malaysia. I have referred friends to Uber, and as long as I have my UK number on the account, it gave my friends a RM 10 (That's US$2.50) credit towards their first ride, I got a Ł10 (US$13) credit towards a free ride in the UK (and it stored on my system without it being used immediately. I found that if I had changed my phone number to a local one in Malaysia, it would only give me a RM 10 credit and it would immediately use it towards my next ride. So I'm keeping my UK number on file, and just call the driver when I make any booking so that they have a local number to ring.
Last edited by Guy Betsy; Aug 31, 2016 at 11:32 am
#44




Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: CDG
Programs: AF/KL Plat, Marriott Plat
Posts: 4,552
I used UberX extensively during my holidays on the Croatian coast this year (Split & Dubrovnik), and while the cars are mostly nothing to write home about, the system works really well, there are flat fees to respective airports and virtually every aspect of the ride is better vs. local taxis. Even though I spoke with drivers in the local language, most of them seem to have a decent grasp of English, so no worries there. Customer complaints/feedback are processed locally (I presume in Zagreb), and the response time is very good.
#45
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,856
Perth: Used it from my hotel (the Parmelia Hilton) to go to a liquor store. The driver was very friendly, explained the route he was going to take, and didn't mind waiting while I ran into the store to get my booze, he then drove back.
Sydney: Used it twice. The first driver, from a restaurant to the IC Sydney, dropped us on the corner in the rain instead of entering the hotel's covered portico, I gave him a 4. The second driver had trouble finding the IC but was great otherwise. Tried to get a ride during rush hour and watched the driver head further and further away from the IC before I cancelled the ride.
Sydney: Used it twice. The first driver, from a restaurant to the IC Sydney, dropped us on the corner in the rain instead of entering the hotel's covered portico, I gave him a 4. The second driver had trouble finding the IC but was great otherwise. Tried to get a ride during rush hour and watched the driver head further and further away from the IC before I cancelled the ride.

