UBER Ride & UK Private Hire/Taxi Services.

[john luke]

Historically when I have required a taxi/private hire ride I have used a local firm.  The firm was based locally, employed local drivers and enjoyed a good reputation.  Over the last year, the firm has been subject to two takeovers and is now trading as Veezu.  

I am scheduled to fly out of Manchester Airport soon, rather than my local airport and have started to look around for alternative taxis/private hire vehicles for the journey to the airport.  During my searches, I found that most of the 'airport transfer' firms were more expensive than Veezu, however, I did find that the basic private hire cars by UBER are slightly cheaper than Veezu.

For the record, I have never had a bad experience with taxis/private hire vehicles in UK.

The next stage of my research was to look at reviews of the various private hire companies/airport transfer companies.  

Whilst there were some good reviews, the majority were bad.  Included in the bad reviews were both Veezu and UBER.  Whilst UBER rides have been around for some time, I have never used them.  

Most of the taxi/private hire firms have an app, which I do not have a problem with, however a disturbing trend I notice is that rather than display the cost of the journey, most apps are showing ESTIMATED COST.  

Have UK-based members of the forum had any experience, either good or bad with UBER or for that matter Veezu?

[Derek Dangleberries]

Same same but different. Whenever I fly EVA to LHR the scheduled Express Coach that I have prepaid doesn't exist  is always canceled!!

So I have been looking at much the same as you as alternative transport from LGW or LHR heading to Chippenham (or further south if possible). My son lives just inside the Emirates free chauffer radius  from LHR but just outside the radius from LGW.So I have been monitoring BC fares for next year.

I hadn't considered Uber or Veezu so will check their prices too ... and monitor this thread for more info ....

TFP!

 

[Butch]

Uber locally are very hit and miss. Mostly driven by Eastern Europeans and they tend to use Toyota Prius or diesel Mercedes. They're useful for around town travel, but for a journey which might throw up an issue such as needing an alternative route, they'll just rely upon their phone or sat nav. I would not use Uber for an Airport run, I'd pay more and go with a reputable company. Most towns have one or two that specialise in that, John.

One possible local firm you might want to consider would be the one the local Hospital uses for patient transfer. Just give the reception or switchboard a call and ask. you'll know that it'll be (or should be) reputable with decent vehicles and reliable drivers.

Also, without casting too many aspersions,  I'd be reluctant to use Uber if I were a single woman.

Can't comment on Veezu but like many of these web based "app rides", I expect that the quality of the driver, the cleanliness of the car and the general product at the end of the day won't be particularly brilliant.