Uber is a new ‘luxury’ car service, well established in the US but only recently launched in London.
Cars are ordered via a smartphone application, and within a stated arrival time, a smart high-end car will arrive at your door, complete with water, newspapers etc. All jobs are charged directly to your credit card and there is no tipping.
One issue with Uber was the lack of sensible flat rate pricing for airport trips. They have now published a zonal flat rate chart for trips from different parts of London to Heathrow, City and Gatwick.
For me, I would be looking at £60 to Heathrow or £50 to City – on par with a standard taxi or Addison Lee, although more than an airport specialist like Simply Airports.
There are occasionally codes around for new users offering £15 to £20 off your first trip, although I couldn’t find one that is currently active. I’ll post it next time I see one.
Anybody know what sort of cars they operate? What is the standard ‘Black’ car? What SUV do they use?
Hi, I emailed them the same question this morning. They said Merc S class, Jaguar (no model given), 7 series BMW and Audi A8. Also I think I found a £10 promo code through their App – recommend a friend and they get £10 off and so do you once they’ve used the service.
Ouch! Pricey! Heathrow to East London at £90 is £40 dearer than my local mini-cab firm! Yes, it may be a nicer car, but I doubt I’ll be using it. Even an exec-car is £25-30 cheaper. Sounds like a lot to pay for the convience of ordering it through your tech toys.
I did pretty well on there last promo via Urban Junkie (mentioneed here). Was easy enough to create several accounts and I enjoyed a few journeys for free.
Just signed up and used the URBANJUNKIES promo code which gave me a £20 credit.