Oh, right, that sounds very possible. I'll try it when I can. Thanks.

The address mapping systems in thailand are terrible. Most places don't have a street address marked or they are not as written on the GPS.

A lot of uber drivers now are just new arrivals and don't even know the names of major hotels.

You are in Bangkok. Not London or Paris

Why are you addressing this to me? :confused::confused:

good question. i guess i was agreeing with you

:)

I used Uber extensively a few months ago in Bangkok with pretty good results. For this trip, its been a totally different experience, and not in a good way. For the past 4 days, the wife and I have attempted to use Uber several times a day. Its been very frustrating. I could go on and on about the problems we've had, but I'll just bypass them and recommend that people do not use Uber in Bangkok, and instead rely on public transportation. Taxis and tuktuks are out if you're anywhere near a 4 or 5 star hotel. They are all thieves.

I've come to the conclusion that Uber does absolutely zero driver/car vetting in Bangkok.

BTW, I use Uber all over the world and am generally very pleased with the service.

In a counterpoint, I've been using Uber every day for the last 3 weeks, and I've run into maybe 3-4 clueless pickups. Usually an SMS solves the issue. Have needed to cancel 2 and get another driver.

Once in the car, with the destination put in the app beforehand, no issues whatsoever.

I have found Bangkok uber drivers to be mostly clueless lately. All white plated cars now which isn't what I imagine uber to be. uber has turned their limo service into uber pop in Bangkok. Not cool.

If you book an UberBlack you always get a limo / hire car. You do realize there is a slider in the app where you can select your service tier ?

White plated cars are UberX

Limo? I don't know last couple of times I tried uberblack in BKK I got a toyota camry and a toyota minivan.

I've only used uberx in BKK once that was not to/from the airport and it was okay other than a long wait to be picked up. Generally I was happy with taking uber to/from the airport except for my last time going to the airport. Horrible experience being picked up at the IC. ETA was 5 minutes but ended up taking 45 minutes. Drive to the airport took nearly 2 hours because the driver just wouldn't follow her GPS and went the wrong way on the highway right into stand still traffic. In the end once we got closer to the airport I ended up having to direct her to departures as she was about to take the airport exit lane. Not sure if she couldn't or wouldn't read but she did speak decent English.

Yeah in this country a Mercedes E200, Nissan Teana or Toyota Camry with leather seats is in the hire car / limo category for UberBlack.

No 12 seaters like you see in NY. They should be licensed and have the correct plates like most hotel limousines. With UberX you get random people with civilian plates.

I see. I guess my point was that a Toyota Camry at 1000THB (UberBlack) vs Honda Civic at 500THB (UberX) to/from the airport doesn't really make much difference as far as the car is concerned. But after my last experience I'll probably stick to UberBlack in hopes of getting a more professional driver.

I have had several occurrences where the destination given to the driver in the app was not at all accurate and needed to give directions/clarify.

My biggest complaint is after being assigned a driver, watching the little car icon in the app not move for 15 minutes, then finally begin moving in the opposite direction. I always cancel these, and end up being charged for them. Sometimes I'll do this 4-5 times before a driver will actually head in my direction. I know there are one way roads,etc, but I always give them a chance to do a u-turn before canceling. They appear to either not understand how to navigate, or the directions/address are in English and they can't understand it. I have no idea. All I know is that Uber in Bangkok is broken.

You and I must have been using different uber! I get white plates all the time now, even red plates, when calling uber black.

even red plates


Red plates with black letters/numbers are temporary; you get these while you're waiting for your official plates to become available. So you get these with a new car. Technically you're supposed to keep a detailed log of usage, to show the police, if you are on red plates.

I think commercial sedans, like those used as limos and for car services, have green plates with white numbers/letters.

And pick-ups whites tags with green letters.