What is Uber?
Uber is a fabulous taxi alternative that is available in many cities in the United States and throughout the world. I was introduced to it about a year ago in New York City by one of my friends who had been using it extensively in the Washington D.C. area, and we’ve been using it ever since. I felt like such a VIP when she whipped out her cell and about 2 minutes later a nice black car (I suck at knowing car types, but it was nice) pulled up to whisk us away. Come to find out, anyone can do this, not just the big-wig types.
Uber is an app/service that you can use in lieu of a regular old taxi to come to pick you up. You set up your payment (via Credit Card) at sign-up, so there is never any need to pay at the time of service – your ride is automatically charged to your account. When you pull up the app, you will see little tiny cars of various types (Uber has different types of car service available) driving around on the map. It’s creepy (in a Big Brother kind of way) and cool at the same time.
One of the nice things is that there is set pricing, and there are also different types of cars that you can request. The pricing is based on the city and the car type.
- UberX = “Everyday cars for everyday use.
Better, faster, and cheaper than a taxi.” - Taxi = “No whistling, no waving, no cash needed.”
- Black = “Your own private driver, on demand.
Expect pickup in a high-end sedan within minutes.” - SUV = “For those times when you need a bit more space.
Seats up to six people in style.” - LUX = “The finest cars with prices to match.”
Basically, you go to the Uber site and sign up for an account. If you use my link we each get a $10 credit to use. Get the app on your phone & then you are good to go.
These are the USA locations currently served:
- Atlanta
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Charlottle
- Chicago
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Fresno
- Hamptons
- Honolulu
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Jacksonville
- Los Angeles
- Madison
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New Jersey
- New York City
- Oklahoma City
- Orange County
- Palm Springs
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Providence
- Sacramento
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Santa Barbara
- Seattle
- Tucson
- Washington D.C.
What was our most idiotic Uber incident ever?
So, we took a train from Denver to Emeryville, CA with a bus transfer to San Francisco. Now, keep in mind that we were on the train for 30 hours and may have lost a few brain cells in the process. We get to San Francisco in the evening, and we literally have NO IDEA where we are. The bus pulls up to a (what felt like) random spot in a city we have never visited and drops us off. There is no one around who can answer our question about where we are & where we need to go (to our hotel). So I think…”Hey! Why not use my favorite trendy car service, Uber?” I pull out my handy-dandy app and call up a nearby driver to take us to our hotel. I give him the address. He looks at me funny, but he’s nice and in a nice black car. He drives us across the street. No joke. We were across the street from our hotel and took Uber to get there. Laziest tourists ever? Luckily we had an Uber credit (that we got just for signing up) in our account & did not have to pay actual money to drive across the street.
Point B is the hotel lounge across the street from Point A
Moral of the story = try Uber but be smarter about it than I was….