Uber: The Dappered-Style Taxi?
Know that you can save $10 off your first fare by signing up through this referral link. Using that referral link will not benefit anyone employed by Dappered. Signing up through that link will provide a credit to the person who first introduced me (Joe) to Uber on a trip. And that person is a she (a friend of a friend). So, even if we do use Uber again together, I won’t be mooching off her credits.
Taxis are fine. But having a sleek black sedan or SUV pull up minutes after touching a button on your smartphone is a whole other world. And that other world is accessible by those of us in the rank and file through an app called Uber.
Uber is the next level of transportation service, and their black cars and SUVs are now in operation in 24 of the largest metro areas in the US. So even if you don’t have Uber in your home town, you might be headed to a city that has it.
You download the app, input some information as well as a form of payment, make sure your GPS is on, and you’re set. Turn on the app and the gps shows you where you are, and the images of black Uber vehicles appear on the map, driving around near you. Need a pickup? It’ll tell you how long your wait is for the next available Uber driver to show up. On a recent trip to Washington D.C., Uber’s standard black Lincoln Town car was never more than 5 or 6 minutes away.
Open the app , Uber shows you where their cars are, and you click for a pick up.
Push a button, your driver is confirmed, his picture comes up, and he’ll call if there’s any difficulty in locating you in a crowd. Just wait for the black sedan to pull up and you’re on your way.
And it’s impressive as hell. Especially if you pull this off with someone who doesn’t know about Uber. Points. Major points.
But how much is this going to cost?
Here’s a sample scenario from the ride back after visiting the Suitsupply store in Washintgon D.C. We were staying at a friends house, it was rush hour, and we were headed back to the Columbia Heights neighborhood:
Uber Fare: $24.00 (tip included)
We were picked up within 4 minutes, water/mints in the back of the car (not all have this), the driver was courteous and got the door for Mrs. Dappered (before I even had a chance) and whipped us through rush hour traffic like a pro. The streets were packed, so it did take almost 20 minutes to get back to a friend’s house where we were staying. The driver asked which route we’d prefer to take, and he suggested we avoid Dupont Circle at that time of day. Once we were dropped off, there was no exchange of cash. You don’t tip. It’s all done through your credit card. You’re texted updates of when your Uber driver is en route and you’re then emailed a receipt once your ride is complete.
Estimated Cab Cost: $13.85 – $18.83 (tip not included)
Chances are this would be closer to $18.83 (the high end) since it was rush hour and traffic was awful (the $13.85 scenario is for a 13 min ride… it took us 20 mins.) but yes… a taxi is noticeably cheaper. You’re paying for the upgraded, on-demand service. But once you factor in a couple bucks for a tip, it starts to get close.
The bottom line: This is a guess, but it’s an educated guess… It probably costs between 15% and 30% more to use Uber instead of a Taxi depending on your tipping habits. But you can download the app and get fare quotes in your city in advance. All you have to do is enter the pick up and drop off location. So would you use it? Have you already? Is it worth the extra cost? Leave it all below.
Top Photo: Vincent Desjardins
North American cities with Uber.
Get even cheaper if you use the UberX option.
I love Uber. I’ve never had a bad experience with an Uber driver, can’t say the same for DC cabbies. Scheduling pickup by GPS, automatically paying by credit card with tip included, plus those water bottles ready in the car is how I want to end my night.
Interesting note on UberX… D.C. and UberX (regular Uber service is fine) aren’t getting along: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57599649-93/uber-battles-d.c-regulators-over-the-size-of-its-cars/
Also the latest version of the app lets you split a ride with a friend from your phonebook. Much easier than figuring out cash or running up a tab with a buddy.
The convenience and service are completely worth the extra money (which, in Baltimore is not too much). Great use of technology combined with understanding of the market (and what people hate about the cab experience).
Took an UberX this weekend (private driver, not a “black car”, but just any relatively new 4-door vehicle). My fare was $8 (including tip) compared to what would have been at minimum a $15 cab ride (not including tip) .
Only downside to UberX I’ve seen is that it takes a little bit longer to pick you up, and occasionally they use multipliers (2x normal fare, 3x normal fare, etc.), and the fare can come out more expensive than a regular taxi. It warns you of a multiplier and you have to accept it first, so its not a surprise. Whenever I get a multiplier I just switch the app to request a regular cab.
Depends on your city and how the taxis/other options are there. In DC, ABSOLUTELY. In NY, probably not.
UberX rates are pretty close to a cab in Boston; I’d say they’re pretty much the same for some of my frequent trips.
I’ve also tried Hailo but they charge $2 during peak hours and the cabs are not readily available.
If anyone is feeling generous, use my referral link to sign up so I get some $ and you do too!
https://uber.com/invite/5kvcx
UberX is cheaper than a taxi in some cities. In some cities they’ve discounted the price a little to compete more aggressively with street hailing and Hailo, Lyft, etc. Nothing but great experiences here. Taxi commissions want a ban because their cars are worse and their drivers are worse. They can’t compete.
Completely worth it. Convenience and ultimately forcing taxi companies to step up their game, providing better service all around. Only complaints are it does get a little pricey at peak times and once you have used the service there are almost no promotion codes you can use which is very annoying.
I live in SF and use Uber quite often. The company was founded in SF and has seen tremendous growth over the past year. The article is pretty spot on – Uber is generally about 15-20% more expensive than a taxi. This is expected as the perception is that they are providing a value added service that a taxi does not. Some value adds are bottled water, mints, snacks (sometimes), a more comfortable ride and a friendlier driver. Also, keep in mind that they increase their fare charge during peak hours. An example of peak hours would be Friday evenings or after the bars close on Saturdays. You will get an advanced warning of this increase when you request a car.
Personally, for trips within the city, I dont think Uber is worth it. The bottled water/better car doesnt justify the extra cost when I’m just looking for a quick trip across the city. However, Uber in SF offers fixed rates to the airport and its fairly competitive with a regular taxi. I prefer Uber if I need a ride to and from an airport.
Now, UberX is a different story. I use UberX quite often as the fair is very similar, and sometimes cheaper, then a regular taxi. UberX is similar to Uber except drivers use their personal cars to come pick you up, and 99% of the time the car is not as good as a towncar. In SF, the minimum charge is $8 including tip. I’ve taken UberX on trips that hit exactly on the $8 minimum and for that same length trip in a taxi, it would have cost $9-10 after tip. The one negative to UberX is that almost anyone can become an UberX driver. Over the past few months, I’ve had so many UberX rides where the driver knows nothing about the city and often will take a longer route (on accident) if you dont give them directions.
Just used UberX this weekend in NYC when they had $20 discounts on trips into and out of Brooklyn, made for a great weekend and impressed the fiancee.
i use uber around 2-5 times a day in Chicago. Its a cheap service that makes getting cabs real easy. Its really just a convenience thing for people who need to get from a to b with 0 hassle (no cc swipe in cab, auto tip 20 percent). Problems – uberx can have dicey car quality but is extremely cheap – and uber has instituted minimum fares for black sedans and SUVs – i believe its 18 for sedan and 25 for suv – regardless of distance. For someone who lives downtown and uses UBer only to get around downtown neighborhoods (i.e. river north, gold coast , streeterville in Chicago) – these minimums are ridiculous. That said overall a convenient service for city dwellers who dont mind the 30-50 dollars a day in cab/car fares.
As always, thanks for the heads up on another cool service I knew nothing about Joe!
I’ve taken a lot of different modes of transportation to the various LA area airports. Looks like Uber is about on par with my normal towncar service to Burbank airport but about 40-60% more expensive (depending on time of day, after tip) than my normal company to LAX. Maybe my guy gives me a deal since I use him so much or something, I spent a long time trying to find the best service that fit into my transportation spending budget a few years ago and stuck with him. Uber is definitely a convenient option with the on-demand thing though, no reservations to make even a day ahead.
Maybe it’s a better alternative to non-airport destinations.We don’t typically use cabs to get around out here but maybe I’ll have to try it as an experiment. Anyone else have any experience with Uber in LA?
If I don’t have cash Uber is nice. However, in Chicago, I prefer apps like Taxi Magic and just paying cash for my cab rides. You can just dispatch a normal cab to your location. No fees or charges.
Uber tends to come screeching to a halt at any “rush hour” for cabs. Weekend evenings, holidays, etc..
It’s worth every penny — they arrive at your location in minutes. In my experience, taxis dispatched by phone can take hours (not hyperbole) during peak times.
And to me, that’s a huge value of the service. The nicer cars, more polite drivers, etc… that’s a perk, but the little to no wait time is fantastic.
Imagine my surprise when I saw you were traveling from Columbia Heights; which is where I live.
I prefer Lyft and Sidecar to Uber. The convenience is the same, but your not stuck with a normal taxi driver up front… You get something more interesting: a person doing the job part time and usually an artist or student full time. Way better conversation and usually better driving!
I prefer Hailo personally
Its great…clean, limo service driver (occasionally a limo or SUV when not even asked for), prompt, flat rate, etc. While it can be a bit more expensive, its not by much and really isnt bad with multiple passengers.
Funny this came up, the cab lobby (lobby may be a generous term) has gotten a Dallas city councilman to shadily push through changes to regulations directed at Uber set for tomorrow evening. Large backlash is becoming apparent from consumers who are unanimously in favor of Uber.
Amen to this on Lyft! I have had nothing but awesome experiences.
My girlfriend and I first used Uber back in June here in Seattle. It was as you described above. Picked up in a Town Car, the driver was incredibly friendly and soft-spoken. He asked us where we were going, if we wanted to hear anything particular on the radio, and then departed without being intrusive. At no point did he talk on a bluetooth of a cell phone (a standard for Seattle cabbies), the car smelled nice, and as far as I could tell, he had showered that day and put on deodorant (again, not a given in a Seattle cab). And more than that, it felt FIRST CLASS. Which, hey, for a guy on the cusp of lower-Middle Class wage, felt good for once ya know? (after discount signup code…ride only cost $1!)
Later in the night, just before midnight. We were at a notoriously difficult part of downtown to hail a cab at. I texted Uber again. Within 4 minutes a black Yukon with leather interior arrived. Doors were held open. Again, great smells, comfort etc.
Would I have saved probably $6 overall by doing a cab? Yes. But at what real cost?
One more note — the above offer is good for $10 off, but I suggest checking retailmenot.com and other deal sites (even Amazon local) has deals. I’ve seen as high as a $25 dollar credit for the first ride and an equal amount in referral.
I’m going to put in a plug for my current favourite service – Lyft. It’s app-driven, meaning you know who your driver is and when they’re going to pick you up. It’s typically cheaper than an average taxi. And the drivers tend to be people from the local community. You meet some really cool people this way and have some great conversation.
Uber is nice when you want something a little more “stylish”. It has a huge advantage over a standard taxi in that you don’t have to bother flagging down anyone from the street and you don’t have to deal with lying cab drivers whose credit card machines are “broken”.
Your friend of a friend owe’s you a steak dinner. She’s gonna rake on credits.
Uber is fantastic – super convenient (don’t have to have cash on you), clean & pleasant cabs, and generally good drivers. And as some have noted, Uberx is generally cheaper than a regular cab; in some locations (DC, at least) you can also get a regular cab through the app at the standard cab rate – tip is included, and you pay a dispatch fee, but there’s no hassle with finding a cab in a cab-deficient area. (Uber is a damn lifesaver when you have an early flight and don’t want to screw around with finding a cab to the airport at 5 AM)
Two other things also worth noting: Their customer service is impeccable. On the rare occasion that a driver is lousy & takes a bad route, you can report the unsatisfactory route when you rate your driver, and if it was actually not the best route they’ll credit the difference in price to your account. They also occasionally run deals where you’ll get some amount of free credit to your account or a discounted fare for taking a trip e.g. to Brooklyn or home from the airport.
And finally, Uber is great for if a friend has overindulged at a party and needs to get home – you can call the car, tell them where to go, and you don’t have to mess around with giving the cabbie a bunch of cash, &c. It also at least seems a little safer than a regular cab – the cars are GPS tracked to verify the routes, and you get an email when the trip is done, meaning you get some confirmation that your friend got home OK.
Great neighborhood. (and thanks for reading Milo)
I use Uber pretty regularly in Chicago. I live in a neighborhood where hailing a taxi is next to impossible. Calling a cab is hit or miss. You literally have no idea if the cab will show up or not. I used to use their black car service almost exclusively. The increased cost is worth it, you have a professional driver in a clean car and the fare is charged to your card. This is good when you have out of town guests or are taking the GF out for a special night.
I’ve used their regular taxi service and the cost is very comparable to just hailing a cab, but with the convenience of knowing the car is coming and having the fee charged to your card.
I don’t live in an area where cab service is a day to day thing for me, but personally the phone-scheduling and configuration, and being able to continue to avoid carrying cash are both worth some amount of premium.
I use Uber at least once a week (in DC, too). Never looked back. Cabs are dead.
Haven’t read through all the comments so don’t know if anyone has said this already, but you can easily change the settings to get a regular taxi with Uber as well. There should be a little symbol on the home screen that shows a picture of a vehicle, and you just click on that and change it from towncar to taxi. I’ve used Uber for both the nicer services and participating taxi’s, with excellent results every time. The automatic billing is, IMO, the best part.
DAMN IT! How is Miami NOT on this list?!?!?
love uber in Dallas!
Took the “freaking” metro to the Nats game, which was great. Then saw the hordes trying to use the metro to get back. No one is saying use it all the time. It’s just an option. A nice option. After using Uber I’d either use public transport (like DC’s metro) or Uber. Cabs now fall in a bit of an inbetween “mneh” area to me. Like an expensive but still fused suit.
See the response to your first comment a few scrolls up ^
sounds cool. Dont live or wortk in the city.
Wow- never heard of this service but always seem to need a cab when in some of these cities. Thanks for the great write-up on this one.
My fiance and I use UBER quite often, even though we are very money conscious. Living in Venice, CA, or also known as the greater Los Angeles area, where there are cabs just blocks away for tourists, UBER has always been here faster than any cab I’ve ever used. I can’t even remember one time, where the cab showed up on time or didn’t get lost, even though our building is on one of the major streets of Venice, literally 3 blocks away from one of the biggest tourist sites in Los Angeles, the Venice Beach boardwalk. Without sounding snobby or arrogant, the thought of walking in this climate through a mass of tourists and drunken people, just to be treated rude and average at best, isn’t really a nice way to start out an evening or day. We always have been treated courteous and pleasant to the point, that we had some of the best conversations with some of the UBER drivers. It makes the time go by faster, when you have an interesting conversation on the way wherever you are going. With most of the cabs, they are usually not well cared for and in the end, the little money you pay more, is even more worth it, when you arrive relaxed and in a good mood, no matter your destination. I never had a such an experience with any cab drive EVER.
I usually even tip the driver personally on top what’s already included in the fare, when we arrive, as it is always a pleasure to ride with UBER.
I just wish we would have discovered them earlier, and when we heard that they were trying to shut them down, we found ourselves panicking of the thought going back to using a cab, that is late or most of the times, maneuvered by impatient and rude drivers. It is very rare in this time and age, that you find drivers being this pleasant and it is always a pleasure to use their services. The peace of mind you have after a ride with them is worth all the money in the world.
On this note: we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE UBER and want to thank all of the drivers for doing such an amazing job.
Thanks
CAHD
When your driver asked you about a preferred route, it reminded me of this article:
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2013/01/taxis-and-the-shortest-route-home-from-my-email.html
And actually, you always want to avoid driving around Dupont Circle.
yeah just because they cant adapt to compete with a better service
You can’t compare Uber-Black with a cab fare. Should be compared to a limousine service fare.
To compare to a cab, use Uber-X
How does the driver know where the rider is going? Is it possible you could pick someone up who wants to go on an 80 mile trip – but you don’t find that out until they get in the car?
you’re*