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Old 27th February 2014, 12:37   #16
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Review: Uber in Bombay

Last week, I read about Uber (the private car service) testing operations in Mumbai. I signed up and decided to check them out.

I had my first ride last night. It was excellent. At about midnight, I fired up the app and decided to book a cab. It said the eta was 9 minutes.

Paid the bill at the bar and saw the eta was 3 minutes. A minute later, the driver gave me a call and asked exactly where I was. I explained my location and voila, a silver Corolla Altis (with an iPhone stuck on the windscreen) showed up.

Jumped inside and soon I was home. The total cost was 268 rupees for the distance from lower parel to Bandra. The same would have cost about 150 by regular taxi.

I got out, said goodnight to the driver and went home. No cash payment, no hassle for change.

The advantages of Uber over a black and yellow is the air-conditioning and the nice clean cars as well as most importantly, the fact that no cash is required. Otherwise, in Bombay, it's pretty easy to find a cab. It's much more useful in Delhi (where I used it last month) where distances are long and where cabs and autos can be tricky to find at night.

Attached a few screenshots of the app and the fares (as per the app)

The app itself is useful and shows where the cars are at the moment.
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Uber smartphone taxi-hailing app makes inroads into India-1393484742156.jpg  

Uber smartphone taxi-hailing app makes inroads into India-1393484767282.jpg  

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Old 27th February 2014, 14:28   #17
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Re: Review: Uber in Bombay

One silly question: How did you actually pay?
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Old 27th February 2014, 14:40   #18
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Re: Review: Uber in Bombay

Quote:
Originally Posted by pnredkar View Post
One silly question: How did you actually pay?
Online, I guess. The app ahould have provisions for the same.
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Old 27th February 2014, 14:46   #19
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They have your credits card details on line
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Old 27th February 2014, 15:06   #20
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Re: Review: Uber in Bombay

When you signup, the credit card details need to be provided. On completion of the journey, the amount is charged to the card. I have used the service once to go to Bangalore airport. The airport charges were Rs. 2000 flat provided the pickup is somewhere within the city. Once the ride was booked, the vehicle arrived in 15 minutes. They are active on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Uber_BLR) where I got all my queries answered.

Oh, and did I mention, we got to the airport in a BMW 5 Series.
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Old 27th February 2014, 15:28   #21
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Re: Review: Uber in Bombay

One question: The cabs that you get to travel when you use Uber, are they private vehicles or are they regular yellow boarded taxi permit vehicles ?

Recently Uber was in the news in France where the regular taxi drivers were protesting against it. They (the regular taxi drivers) claim that Uber service is illegal because Uber does not operate with taxi permits.
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Old 27th February 2014, 18:34   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motorsan View Post
One question: The cabs that you get to travel when you use Uber, are they private vehicles or are they regular yellow boarded taxi permit vehicles ?
In India, they're yellow board and have the t on the front, back and sides.




Quote:
Originally Posted by pnredkar View Post
One silly question: How did you actually pay?
My bad for not clarifying. When you sign up for Uber, you enter your credit card details which is then debited after you get out of the cab.

The not so great thing about Uber is that there's no meter so you have no idea about the fare till you get the email receipt once you get off.
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Old 27th February 2014, 19:51   #23
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Re: Review: Uber in Bombay

You can ask the driver for the fare once the ride is complete. That is how it used to work in SF. (Of course, the email receipt/app notification usually appeared within a couple of minutes of paying the driver).
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Old 27th February 2014, 21:26   #24
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Re: Review: Uber in Bombay

Quite surprised Uber is already testing the waters in Bombay.
I read a fantastic cover article about the service and its disruptive nature on an entrenched business like the one for taxis in Businessweek last week. For anyone interested : link
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Old 27th February 2014, 22:50   #25
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Re: Review: Uber in Bombay

Nice to see Uber entering India. Their services are really good, very professional and quick. The app even gives you details bout the driver, his picture etc so you know who is going to pick you up.
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Old 28th February 2014, 10:39   #26
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Re: Review: Uber in Bombay

but one thing: apart from the premium cars , is there any other benefit? whats the USP?

There are a lot of apps that can show the location of the nearest Radio cabs and do the booking.
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Old 28th February 2014, 13:39   #27
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Re: Review: Uber in Bombay

Quote:
Originally Posted by BUXX View Post
but one thing: apart from the premium cars , is there any other benefit? whats the USP?

There are a lot of apps that can show the location of the nearest Radio cabs and do the booking.
The USP is that you get an instant confirmation. In the case of the other, it is still a hit and miss on whether the cab will come or not
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Old 5th June 2014, 13:49   #28
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Re: Uber smartphone taxi-hailing app makes inroads into India

I have been using Uber for office work. I always get a Toyota of some form or the other which has been maintained well.

Today I got a Ford Fiesta with a not so good AC. For the money we pay, I would expect better considering we pay more then a Meru or equivalent.

On a separate issue, the taxi was driven by a lady which I was pleased to see more opportunities for women. She drove well (and pretty aggressively!)
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Old 5th June 2014, 16:27   #29
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Re: Uber smartphone taxi-hailing app makes inroads into India

Does Uber in India work only for Taxi's? Or is it like USA where anybody can be an uber driver in free time.
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Old 5th June 2014, 17:52   #30
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Re: Uber smartphone taxi-hailing app makes inroads into India

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Originally Posted by tsk1979 View Post
Does Uber in India work only for Taxi's? Or is it like USA where anybody can be an uber driver in free time.
Only for taxis. You cannot use your own car and be an uber driver.

If they have started giving Ford Fiesta's then the USP is lost. Why would I not book a regular Meru/Mega or the new cheaper Meru Genie cabs. The Meru genies have same fare as autos but charge Rs.2/min of idle time i.e. time the car is stationary.

Uber with Ford fiesta's is nearly Rs.20/km + Rs.2/minute for the duration of your ride.

The excitement of getting an Audi/BMW/Merc is gone.
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