Anyone have any experience using UBER here, are they good, reliable and come quick to pick up? Have to go to the airport in the very early in the morning and wondering if I should give them a try as it seems to be cheaper. Any feedback greatly appreciated!
I have not used them but was recently speaking with two friends who do. They said it's great and significantly cheaper than a taxi. App is easy to use and tells you how long till the car gets there. They just said don't go for the "pop" version right away. I guess that's a spontaneous driver in the area? Anyway, I plan to use them!
I have used them many many times in Zurich and only once with a problem with the driver trying to scam me and taking a much longer route than usual (and then offered me his business card at the end of the trip and told me I should book with him directly as he'll offer me a price cheaper than the much-more-than-usual Uber fare I've just had ). I complained to Uber Zurich and I got the extra money refunded.
Otherwise, I'm a happy customer and I use Uber for airport trips on a fairly regular basis.
I've only tried them twice in Zurich, and my feeling is that it depends very, very much on the driver individually. The first time was awesome, while the second time the driver arrived a bit late and didn't come to the exact address that was requested, but a 100 - 200m away, which required some coordination via phone calls once he arrived. On the financial side of things, perhaps half the price of a regular taxi.
i've used them a few times here in lausanne. a lot cheaper than taxis (which is very good here with the hills and late nights) and you get credit for others joining, which is nice.
all the rides i've had were great, except the last time where the guy was pretty strange- asking me some personal questions and then also asking me out for a drink some other time- which made me feel really uncomfortable, especially after telling him i was married with a family and kind of stuck in the car and he then knew more or less where i lived... not sure after that (although it was a one off) i would use it again, although i suppose it could happen using a taxi as well. the good thing is that it is convenient to see where they are, they are quite quick to arrive but the drivers are sometimes a bit of a mix of backgrounds and i'm wondering if they have any regulations for that...
As a licensed taxi driver they have been checked out by Lausanne, but they are all self employed, so if things do go wrong you only have the law to turn to, or would Uber back you up if the driver tried something physical?
a good question- and it seemed innocent enough (under the guise of practicing english) that i didn't contact uber about it. but uncomfortable enough to make me question the security of it all. also, another driver mentioned that he was worried there would be problems with the taxis as its popularity grew in lausanne- which will create issues, i'm sure. but they've only been here for a month or so
Have you ever talked with a taxi driver in Zürich? They are far from making a good living.Taxis in Zürich are actually quite a bit cheaper than in the rest of Switzerland.
I have mentioned it elsewhere on EF, but in Bern the drivers get 10% of the gross takings, the owners get 90%. Most of Switzerland have similar scales, the main problem in all cities is there are 50% too many licensed taxis.
The companies are successful as they can be very flexible and provide a good response with a large number of cars. Uber may change all this, as the poor owner driver taxi drivers will now effectively be part of a large company.
My question is how can customers be sure the Uber taxis are licensed by the city? Does Uber check they are legal taxi drivers? The taxi laws are very thorough, and strictly enforced with huge fines by the city police for not observing rest breaks in driving. If I remember correctly you need a clean police record too.
yes, i know that's what i like about it and what may keep me using them again. but i didn't leave feedback (yet) on that last journey- to be honest, i tried to figure out if they can see the feedback and who leaves it...any idea?
in terms of taxis, they seem to be doing quite a good business here although i really don't understand how, the prices are truly outrageous.
I have driven for UBER and they do check every driver out for a taxi licence and licenced vehicle. The city Police are not the ones who check driver hours, this is done by a team of ARV specialists on a spot-check basis, if the city police believe the driver is breaking the law then they will call in the inspectors.
Alarmingly though, there are no systematic criminal record checks, I was not asked for this when I was recruited.
Regarding earnings, you only make enough money with UBER if you work like a Taxi on weekends, that is, late nights thursday, friday and saturday which I didn't like 1) because people stink of fags and many are drunk 2) because I didn't want to take business away from taxi drivers.
I made money by hanging round the Gold Coast ferrying rich teenagers with daddy's credit card going to and from that trendy bar in Bellevue and all..
Feedback is a huge issue, if a driver goes below an average of 4.2 then UBER will want to let them go. Drivers can see the feedback as soon as the customer has left it. 5/5 is actually the norm, you will only get lower if you really have issues as drivers can also leave feedback about the customers.
Unless the driver farts out loud, won't let you charge your phone, forbids you to bluetooth your music in or is really creepy, leave a 5..
It is the norm for UBER, UBER is cool that way and this it is actively encouraged, to refuse is unfriendly enough for a 4/5 feedback (seriously)... I had no choice to put up with loud techno music from the younger users and (I remember) some weird floydesque demo from one guy amongst others, these are the major points about the bluetooth aspect that I recall most.
Not saying this is the norm (and I've never used UBER) but there was an article in the local Lausanne paper this week. People working for UBER as a full time job, so working 14-15 hours straight trying to make a living.