Uber

Über have become a big name on the taxi front in the past year or so, and having used them twice now in Manchester, I feel reviewing them is overdue, having already reviewed their services in London. This review is for Über in Manchester, and not Über as a whole, for example I won’t let my great experience with Über in London, interfere with the rating for the Manchester branch of the company.
RIDE 1: Manchester Piccadilly to Home:
After my train home from London, I requested a «Über X» to take me home, the taxi arrived quite quickly, however it was quite hard to find the car. I got told the meeting place was «Fairfield Street Car Park», however I didn’t know where it is, so I waited near where the buses are, opposite another car park, run by NCP, and with the bus driver struggling to assist me, I just had to wait in that area.
It did take me a while, but I did eventually find it, it was the standard taxi pick up point, near the enterance/​exit for platforms 13 and 14, and the metrolink
The driver did seem quite nice, even though I know it can be frustrating, having to wait for someone who really doesn’t have a clue what is going on, but I was confused with the Über message, as I thought «Car park» would mean a car park, not a bay of taxis.
The driver did seem nice, and we had a nice chat about my trip in London and the weather, the journey was quite pleasant, and the driver didn’t mind turning his radio off, while I had a phone call, which I didn’t ask him to do, so was a nice gesture and a good use of common sense.
The driver also seemed nice and helped both myself and the luggage in and out of the car, and I was also pleased to see he had turned the meter off, before doing so, so I didn’t have to pay for his time, as what happened when using Über in London.
My taxi cost £13.13, which considering the amount of time we spent in the car, and that I had luggage, I felt that seemed reasonable, and it sweetened the deal, that Über gave me my ride for free, with it being my first time using them in Manchester.
RIDE 2: Etihad Stadium to Home:
My second journey was probably one of the worse taxi drivers I have had with Über as a whole so far, mainly due to the large amount of traffic to surround a match day, and of course with the Etihad recently expanded to just over 55,000 and more people attending games, they is going to be more traffic and congestion coming with it.
The driver seemed to take a long amount of time to get to me, having probably been stuck in traffic, however I found the app hard to track where he was, and phoning the driver didn’t give me a lot of confidence, as normally they would tell me where they were, but he just seemed to say he was minutes away.
Another thing I like about Über, is you can contact your driver, rather than having to go through the taxi firm, when using a local firm for example.
The driver did seem okay, he did try to make small talk asking me about the game, but the conversation seemed to be awkward after a while, so I guess we both realised that and stopped it. He did seem okay as a driver however, he did also seem to loose his temper a little in traffic, swearing at a passenger, but considering he had been stuck in traffic, without getting paid for it, before picking me up, I can understand the frustration.
My journey should have cost £12.75, which considering all the traffic, especially before the driver picked me up (and they was a lot after too), that is a reasonable price, however Über had put the price up so it is 1.4x the original value, which made it cost, just under £18. I found this to be a rip off, and just taking advantage of customers in a busy time in Manchester, with Manchester City playing and Pride taking place, but I do understand it helps get Über drivers on the road, and considering all the traffic, the driver had been through, it was basically just to get money for his time.
I did have to wait considerably longer than the predicted time, to get in the car, and to also get home, and it was also difficult to find the driver, once he had arrived to pick me up, simply due to traffic and the colour of the car not being stated on the app.
Über are a good company, but especially the last journey puts me off Über a little, although I will carry on to use Über (for now) due to the second journey not being too pleasant, and the app barely working at the time (probably because it can’t handle such demand), and it being quite hard to find a Über in central Middleton, with most cars being based in Manchester city centre, I feel for now I can only give Über 2 stars, but I can hopefully look to giving them a higher rating in the future.

I requested a quote for a ride from Didsbury to Bolton last night I was quoted £29 which miraculously became £82 on arrival I have heard of surge pricing at busy times but on this ratio they could quote £10 to get your business and charge you anything at your destination surely this cannot be correct a quote is to get your trade not an out & out deception

Got of the train to Manchester from Liverpool with the Über app downloaded and updated with my payment information. As a first time user the process was pretty simple. Have a look on the map to see cars close by, have a snoop at the driver details and hail a cab via the app to your current location! Then you can just sit back and relax whilst watching your cab move along the streets of the app’s mapping system! If anything it was great fun!
Not only was it quick, but there is constant communication between the taxi driver and yourself to avoid mix-​ups or getting lost! My particular taxi man was very chatty and friendly. Added bonus is that there is no arguing over the fare charge, it is all explained on the app! And also there is no need to hoke about for change, as it just comes off your card once the fare is complete!

I’ve been using Über for around a month now since I moved into the city centre and, despite their negative feedback recently, I have always been impressed with their service.
I’ve found them very convenient — I’ve managed to get an Über pretty much any time I’ve needed one and they’ve never been more than 4 or 5 minutes away.
The drivers have all been friendly, even when I’ve linked my Spotify to their radio (which is very cool) and blasted out some questionable tunes! It seems I get some of the same drivers too — which is great when they remember you.
My trips have been quite short, usually into the centre and back home or just nipping around town from place to place, so have always been inexpensive.
I’m a fan, i’ll continue to use them.

They were great 2 months ago but they have increased their prices by 2.2 x the normal rate!
I hardly can find a cab in Chorlton or East Didsbury on-​peak times for a reasonable price. .quite disappointing.

Über is the best thing to have happened to manchester for thousands and thousands of years, über is the very very best taxi service anywhere. We want über corner shops as soon as possible. I wish we could have an umber party in power in London with an über prime minister.

Long have we imagined a system where you don’t have to call a rubbish operator to order a cab and be lied to about how long it will take to arrive, unsure as to whether they know the address and then asked for directions to the well known location by the driver.
Über has arrived and has taken the city by storm.
And rightly so.
The system is simple — you have an app on your phone that uses the GPS to lock in your pickup point (wherever you want to set it). You hit request and a driver picks up the job. When he does (in seconds usually), his name, photograph, car type and registration all pop up in the app, you have a very accurate time of arrival (no more than 5 mins usually) and the app isolates his car on the map and shows you its location at all times, literally as it moves.
When he arrives, the drivers, who are all incredibly pleasant, will ask your name and get you promptly on your way.
The real kicker is that there is no hard cash involved. The app is linked to your bank account and charges you accordingly. This means several things:
No worrying about carrying cash.
The driver can’t see who much it’s running to until he finishes the journey so he can’t draw out the distance for extras.
The app always ROUNDS DOWN! You know in a black cab how it always adds 30p when he stops — NONE OF THAT RUBBISH.
There is also a star rating system — BOTH WAYS — you rate the journey and the driver rates you aswell, so they know if you’re a nightmare customer or you’re liable to vom or whatever so they can choose to pick you up or not. Genius.
It also allows you to split the bill with other people, and by using a unique code to get other people on board the Über wagon, you get cash rewards and so do they.
They have the Google (their umbrella company) way of working, and it shows.
Quality cars. Quality Drivers. Use them. Now.

After reading Toby give a glowing review I just had to give Über a try (Nothing to do with the tenner off I assure you!) and i’m glad I did!
As myself and Mrs Z were planning on going to a gig at The Star and Garter, and knowing that we were going to miss the last train/​bus/​tram, there were only 2 options open to us, 1-​Ange not drink and thus drive us (yeah right!), or get a taxi back to Rochdale.
So after remembering that Toby had a code that helps you and He I decided to download the app and give it a whirl.
To be able to just crawl out of the venue, open the app and tap the map is a really great thing to behold. And then a couple of minutes later our taxi turned up, the driver knowing my name, and I his (and I knew what he’d look like)
Even without the money off it was still a few quid cheaper than other firms! And the fact that they round down the price us also a nice touch too!
I’m glad my first taxi review is a good one :)

I have to say that I’m unashamedly jumping on the über bandwagon — I’ve now had 4 of their cabs in the past month and have to say that I’ve been really impressed with their service. The cars are easy to track on their downloadable app, you get an idea of how much the fair is going to cost and if the driver can’t find you when they arrive they give you a bell.
Living in Greater Manchester suburb Stockport, I have got 3 from here to the city centre for less than £20, plus one from West Didsbury to Stockport which I was sure they’d undercharged me for. The good thing is that they send you an invoice straightaway to your email showing your distance, time, cost etc so everything in transparent and you know what you’ve been charged for and if it’s right.
The cars in Manchester aren’t as flash as some of the ‘rides’ I’ve had when using über in San Fran and London but I guess it’s a mission in itself to actually get enough cars to launch with so I hope this’ll change in the near future. The drivers are what make them what they are though — super friendly and good laughs every time.
Looking forward to using über next time I need a cab across town!

Thanks to Toby S, Über has entered my life. It is über good. It’s like hailing a cab, except you hail it with your phone from inside instead of with your rain drenched arm on the street. This combines the convenience of hailing a cab instead of having to figure out a time to pre order with the convenience of knowing a car is coming (you get told the exact time and can track a little black car bobbing along the map on the app), with none of the inconvenience of either. Even more conveniently, payment is taken automatically from your credit card so you don’t need cash. AND it’s cheaper.
I think what speaks loudest for Über is how happy the drivers are with it, every single driver I’ve met so far (about five, I’m getting a bit addicted) has been so excited about how great a system it is and how much better it is making their lives.

Über, you get 4 stars to start out. I feel you’re going to be a 5-​star but I need to use you a bit more first.
Ubers an established Cab Firm elsewhere (States, London), started up in Manchester last week.
You book and Pay through a phone App, so no need to worry about carrying cash
(App looks to be just iPhone and Android right now)
Drop a pin on where you’re stood on the map and it’ll tell you how far the cab is away (and it’s accurate on timing) it’ll also track the cab coming to you so you see if it’s caught in traffic/​at lights etc
Cheaper than Black Cabs, and from what I’ve seen cheaper than Street Cars.
For those bothered about getting into the wrong cab at night, the App not only tells you what type of car is turning up but even has a picture and name of the Driver.
You also rate your driver/​trip and can leave comments, so hopefully that’ll mean you should never get a crap driver, or if you do, you should never see them again
Once paid through the App (that’s connected to your credit card/​paypal) you’ll get an email receipt, which shows you a breakdown of the journey and also shows that they round ‘Down’ to the nearest pound.
And for anyone whose really interested the App will also tell you how much they charge per minute and per mile (though that really applies more to London where they have different qualities of private cars)
As an Example of a couple of fares;
Wednesday I got a cab from Piccadilly station to Chorlton (About 4 miles), stuck in traffic so it took over half n hour, cost me £12
Last night zero traffic from the office £9
Both those journeys in a black cab normally cost me around £15−18
Thoroughly recommend the App, hopefully this can be the way forward for how Taxis/​private hire firms work as it just makes sense