Grab car service now in Bangkok (Uber sold to Grab in SE Asia)
 

Nice to know uber is trying out Bangkok. Would be a great relieve from overpriced hotel limos and pesky metered or non metered taxi service.

Once taxi drivers figure out what is going on I expect 'problems' to arise.

Uber only in limited rollout now. Use GrabTaxi if you want a metered cab.

BTW referral links is that way ---> FT Uber Conga

I suspect that may be an understatement.

The 'taxi-mafia will be pissed no doubt. IMO, Uber is too amorphous to protest or blockade. What are they going to do, smash the windshield of any car that stops on a soi or at a hotel to pick up a pedestrian ? 99% of these are going to be friends, drivers on the payroll, co-workers, & family.

Uber car service now in Bangkok
 

I use Uber all the time in Chicago, I can't imagine it's going to work here in Bangkok except for very specialized uses. Taxis are 4x cheaper and far more available vs Chicago.

Now put Uber in Phuket, that'll be a great success, if every one of the drivers is not killed by the taxi mafia there. :)

Checked uber wait times at various places today, between 5-10 min (except on Bang Krachao where it was 50, not bad!) The prices quoted seemed like metered pricing. That said I wasn't going to wait 10 min when there were plenty of metered cabs available. And when metered cabs are hard to get, Uber will start with that ridiculous surge pricing where they keep cars of the road so they can jack rates by 8x.

In my building on Soi 20 sukh it can take 5-10 minutes for the security guard to get a taxi. Uber would be so convenient. I can monitor the arrival from my condo and just go downstairs when I need to.

One (of several) caution with Uber. Uber is supposed to make sure that the drivers have insurance, but it doesn't require them to have commercial insurance. If the driver has regular insurance and gets in an accident and his insurance company discovers he was driving for Uber, they won't pay the claim. In a place like Bangkok, you (the passenger) could get nailed for the cost. Plus, if you get hurt, his insurance is unlikely to cover you.

Many taxi and limo drivers have relationships with hotel staff. They'll notice and potential create a problem.

LOL. Insurance in BKK! Basic public liability comes with the plate renewals each year for something like $20 and pays out less than $2000 on a death or injury. There is likely no additional insurance on drivers. If you have home liability insurance it should cover any eventuality overseas for you.

But public liability doesn't cover commercial vehicles. That's been one of the disputes with Uber from the beginning. There was an accident just a few weeks ago (IIRC) in San Francisco where and Uber driver killed a pedestrian. His insurance refused to cover it. Uber refused because he wasn't on a call at the time.

Remember in BKK it's not exactly hard to find a taxi. Any time. Any where.

"Remember in BKK it's not exactly hard to find a taxi. Any time. Any where'......... Sometimes it it for me, when I get out away from the tourist core. I might give 'em a shot when I return from my friends homes. I don't know what they charge long haul, as I've only used Uber around San Francisco, but they might be a good option to say, Hua Hin w/that $20 off code.

I priced out central bangkok to BKK airport and it showed 1000 THB. That is all in with tolls and tip. I pay our standard taxi driver that much, but it could admittedly be had for about half that amount.

Jeez, then they'll probably want 8K to HH ! May I assume the 1K to BKK was non-peak ?

A taxi should be around 300 THB. YOu can get an airport or hotel limo for 1000 baht.

I'd disagree. Finding taxis that will use their meter can be a big hassle, especially at busy times, raining, etc.

Count me in as being excited for Uber in Bangkok. I live in Washington, DC, and they have definitely shaken up the status quo with taxis here.

I look forward to trying it out next month in BKK!

There are many transportation options. I didn't mean to descend into arguments about what is a good or bad rate. uber is more expensive than a metered taxi in any city they operate.

The point was to say that it is good news to see uber in Bangkok.

Has anyone used them yet here?

I tried twice. Once the 8min quote went steadily up as I watched the driver go the opposite direction for 15min at which point it said 20 min wait, so I cancelled it.

The second time the 10min quote was also inaccurate, after waiting 15 min with another 15min wait estimated, I cancelled and jumped in to a metered taxi.

I think this time estimate thing is going to be a problem. Traffic is wildly unpredictable and both of these were around 10pm on a weekday.

Note that for those who use a radio-dispatched taxi, you will incur a 20 baht fee, over/above the meter. I think GrabTaxi has a fee of 25 baht.

I think the DLT-published flat-rate fares displayed in many taxis are for destinations outside the Bangkok Metropolitan Area. I do not believe these cover travel to SBIA/BKK.

There are several reliable limo services which charge 950 - 1,000 baht all in for travel from many locations in the City, to SBIA/BKK.

There are some reasonably positive reviews of UBER on Thai social forums.

I think the pricing starts at 45 baht + 9.2 baht/Km + 2.50 baht/min.

FWIW, you can use Google Maps to approximate the distance and travel time. There are many hotels in the database, the transport options - choose the car icon to get a feel for the taxi option - are pretty decent (the transit icon includes buses, BTS, SARL, MRT, Canal, River, maybe others) as are the traffic impacts - a "normal" travel time is displayed, as is a "current" travel time. There are now travel "time-line" options displayed showing connections to the next departing options.

Looks like 1st timers can get $45 credit now: http://boardingarea.com/onemileatati...ber-customers/ Might want to sign up for the FT Uber conga: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/s-p-...service-9.html

Friendly reminder...
 

Trip report
 

Ordered uber. First car got lost on the way. Headed exactly the opposite. direction.

I cancelled the call and did a new one. That one arrived properly. Mercedes e class limo also under contract to Sofitel. First class (ok second class compared to S class or Bentley).

The surprise came when I received the bill. 90 Thb!!!

Taxi would have been about 68-90 baht depending on traffic.

I am gonna use them again. Just allow 30 minutes for them to show up.

Too bad Uber doesn't go from BKK Airport to Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel. :(

Are you sure? They don't pick up at Bkk airport?

They do pickup at BKK airport, but don't seem to deliver to Royal Orchid Sheraton. I checked the Uber website area of coverage, doesn't seem to extend to where the hotel is located.

The web site is beta. They definitely pick up and deliver to the riverside hotels.

You're right, I just tried the website and quote shows THB1000. Will do a booking after I land. :)

I read there is free wifi hotspots at the departure or arrival hall of the airport? Have to make use of it so I can do a booking or else I would have no way to book it.

UPDATE: Oh yeah, I just need to buy a pre-paid visitor SIM Card. Will get that then book an Uber. :) Gonna try this one from dtac.

UPDATE2: Just ordered the tourist SIM online and will pick it up when I land.

Yes, there is wi-fi. But you have to go to the wi-fi desk and ask for a password.

In the future, you don't need to pre-order a tourist SIM. You can get a prepaid SIM at 1,000 different counters in shopping sites all over BKK. 1-2-Call, for example

IMO it's kinda crazy to use Uber on arrival at BKK w/out a Thai SIM. Just take a cab. You would have to go upstairs, buy a SIM, contact Uber, and wait who knows how long. lcp was smart to get one ahead of time. The car could be there already after luggage & immigration.

unless you order uber at the time you land, there is no point. the wait can be 30-60 minutes. An AOT Camry is "only" 1200 THB into town.

After I landed at BKK, i went to pickup up my SIM card from the dtac booth. They helped to install and setup the sim card and tested the internet to be working.

I proceeded to order Uber unforunately there were no cars to be found after a few mins wait. So I took a taxi from the official taxi stand and got to my hotel with no issues.

Few days later got an email informing me they awarded me thb300 credit for my next ride to be used by this weekend to apologize for the lack of vehicles on the road (Uber BKK is still in soft launch).

I ordered Uber for my return trip from Hotel to Airport and managed to get a Black Camry but took about 40 mins to reach me. Enjoyed the ride, pretty quiet too. He dropped me off and I tipped the driver an extra thb50.

Overall a nice experience.

Any new experiences on the roll out of uber in BKK.

Have a couple of stays. I am considering using it but not convinced.

I'm also curious to see recent updates especially from BKK. I'm planning on giving it a try if the wait is no more than 10 minutes. Otherwise I'll probably just take a taxi.

I used uber last week 3 times in Bangkok:

Sofitel Sukhumvit - Emporium Mall (Sukhumvit Soi 24): 91 THB
Sofitel So - Sofitel Sukhumvit: 144 THB
Sofitel Sukhumvit - Airport: 1.075 THB

The trips around Sukhumvit Road were about 50% more expensive than a trip with a regular taxi. Sounds expensive but it's just about 30 THB to 50 THB surcharge. Both times I had to wait about 3 to 5 minutes in the early afternoon for my driver. The cars were huge, new Toyota Camrys, the driver were friendly and spoke good english, one time I was offered water for drinking.

For my trip to the airport I had to wait about 12 minutes in the morning. Also a huge Toyota Camry. The fair to the airport is a fixed price of 1.000 THB plus tollway.

The booking through the app is easy and simple. Payment through cc. After the trip you get a detailed bill by mail.

All in all it was a good experience. Uber in Bangkok makes sense for certain destinations were regular taxis are reluctant to go to. For a trip in the Sukhumvit, Siam and Silom area a regular taxi might do the job as well.

Thanks olisch. Much appreciated. The 1000 to the airport seems expensive in relation to a taxi and is only a little less than hotel limousine depending on car type clearly.

Tolls weren't included? But they were billed to your credit card right? Or did you have to pay tolls in cash?

I know that taxis are cheaper but 1000 isn't too bad and way cheaper than hotel limos so it's all a matter of how much time I'd have to wait at the airport for uber.

Hmm looks like they may have lowered the airport rate. Just did a quote from BKK to SGS and it came to 625