Uber-ly Fantastic Ride Experience

My family and I are frequent taxi riders in the Metro, when Uber (despite its controversies and telenovela against the LTFRB) finally became available in the Philippines, my roommate (my husband, btw) and I downloaded it right away. Each of our phones has Uber just in case one's battery gets drained, which is usually mine unfortunately.

Downloading and Registering 
Downloading Uber was easy! All  we did was search for it in App Store or Google Play. After downloading Uber, we created a profile account and enrolled our credit card. Here we used our BPI VISA Amore card. Don't worry because Uber will only use your card you have availed of its service. In fact, my roommate didn't use Uber until after a month he had created his account.

Types of Uber 

There are two types of Ubers: UberX and Uber Black. UberX is the cheaper version of Uber cars as it uses regular cars like Vios and AUV's like Innova. According to UBER MNL Tips, UberX has a minimum and base fare of Php 40, just like our regular taxi cabs! However, it has a per minute rate of Php 2 and a per km rate of Php5.7.

Uber Black is the more high end type of Uber since it uses SUV's and according to some Uber drivers, luxury cars like Accord and some BMW's. Whoah! Its base fare is Php 90 and has a minimum fare of Php120.. It has per minute rate of Php 2.10 and a per km rate of Php 12.92.

I'm pretty sure, we're happy using just the UberX.

Requesting for your Uber
When we requested for our Uber,  we simply set our pickup location and destination. We have saved frequent places like "home" and "work" already. Before we tapped our request, we had the option to see the estimated fare so that at least we have an idea how much we would be paying. Afterwards, we confirmed our request, and soon we got a message saying that our Uber was on the way! This message included our driver's name, his contact number, his picture, the car's model, and plate number. It was that easy and convenient!

After a few minutes, if the driver found our place right away, we just hopped in and enjoyed our ride. It was like having our very own personal driver.

Pros
1) Safety - Since Uber provides details of your driver and picture, you can be sure of that he wouldn't do anything to you. Besides, you could report him right away.

2) Convenience - Seriously, no more lining up for the taxi and no more haggling and begging with kuya taxi driver  to take you from point A to point B especially during rush hours! You will just let your ride come to you as you wait in peace.

3) Cashless Transaction - Since you're using your credit card, no need to bring cash or several denominations just in case the driver doesn't have change. We all have experienced paying for more just because some taxi drivers "did not" have change for us. In Uber, you pay for your exact fare.

Cons
1) Credit Card - Well, since this is an online transaction, you first need a credit card. I don't know any other ways to pay your Uber since I think they only accept credit cards.

2) Online - You need to be online to request for an Uber, which could be a problem if you're not on PLAN. But then again, you could always ask for free wifi passwords of some establishments.

3) Surge - Ugh, when it's rush hour or if the demand for an Uber is high, Uber suddenly goes on a surge. This means that the normal fare is higher and is multiplied based on the current surge. This could go on from 1.5 to 4.5x. It could be a little expensive especially if it's traffic.
However, you do have an option to let it pass which usually happens after a couple of minutes.

Right now, we're so happy with the Uber service especially since we travel with Baby Charley.