Saturday, January 11, 2014

UBER: Everyone's Private Driver [via iPhone]


So glad Uber is finally here in Manila! 

I've heard of Uber some time ago and only wished our taxi apps were more reliable & safe. It's been available in major cities worldwide and last week I got excited after my friend Christine sent me an e-mail about it coming to Manila. It's only been 2 weeks since they've started it and they initially have 6 cars. 

It was very timely that last Tuesday I was scheduled to have dinner with my friends at Rockwell. I would normally send my driver home after 8 PM so I took it as an opportunity to finally use the app. The app is free and signing up is easy. It looks like this : 


Getting a ride is really easy:

1. Open the app and register with your name, email, mobile number and credit/debit card details- all transactions/receipts/trip details will be emailed to you. It tells you how much will be charged so you don't have to worry about putting in your card details. 

2. Wait for a few minutes (4 minutes in my case since I was just at Rockwell) to get the automated confirmation via text and track your car on the app itself with an estimated time of arrival, your driver's name, his photo and plate number

 3. The app will notify you when your car arrives. Just tell the driver your destination and that's it! 

Things I love about Uber:

You don't have to hand in cash/pay the driver
• You can track the car on the app and cancel trips easily
• You can get the estimated cost of your trip 
• You pay with your credit card- you have no idea know how I've always wanted our cabs here to take credit/debit cards. I don't carry around a lot of cash since I know it isn't safe to be walking around with large sums of money here in the city! I also hate having a lot of money in my wallet since I'm always tempted to spend.
• It eliminates the problem of cab drivers asking for the extra Php 100-200 during long trips/busy days 
• It's safe- no crazy and creepy cab drivers who'll leave you hoping your seatbelt will save your life 
• You can SPLIT YOUR FARE as long as you all have the app! 

Right now, the service is available from 7am to 3am. It's so convenient if your personal driver/car isn't available or if you're not too sure about riding a cab late at night. 

Download the app and enter the promo code UberRaleene to get Php 1,000 worth of Uber credits
You can also click on this link to sign up and avail of the promo. It's valid for a whole month! 

And to my girl friends, you now have no excuse to skip our weekly dinner dates cos of "scary cabs". Get on Uber!!! 

It's only been 2 weeks since they've started here in Manila so spread the word! 
Follow them on Twitter and Instagram (@Uber_Manila)

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