When traveling to cities for a long weekend, it is hard to justify renting car, especially when the city has good transportation or is easy to walk. However, sometimes walking around cities or taking public transportation is hard, especially when you are not familiar with a city and do not know the safe areas compared to the sketchy ones.
Don’t want to rent a car while traveling? Don’t know if you have enough cash or if the cab takes credit cards? Consider using one of the two new alternative cab companies. How are these different than regular taxi cabs? Some are locals from the city that drive when they want to and like to drive. Though, the more I use these, the more I learn yellow-cab drivers are switching companies as well. Don’t stress about driving in a new city and use one of the two companies to get around.
I haven’t found much difference between the two companies. Both have cell phone apps for requesting a pick up and drop off. The apps will calculate an estimated rate for the distance traveled. Rates can vary depending on time of day and the amount of drivers on the clock. The only main difference I have found is Uber lets the rider pick what type of car is needed. I usually use UberX because it is the cheapest mode. However, if you are traveling with a larger group, then the SUV option may be worth the extra money.
Pros
- Emailed receipts.
- Estimated fares.
- No cash/credit card information exchanged.
- Split the fare with your friends on the app.
- You rate the driver, and the driver rates you.
Cons
- Costs more than renting a car if used multiple times.
- Usually does not pick up at airports.
Using Lyft and/or Uber for airport arrivals and departures can be tricky. The fare on the way to the airport is higher, but you cannot request them leaving the airports because it is out of their ranges. After talking to one of our drivers to the Denver airport, we learned that if you request it within their limits and then contact the assigned driver, they will usually pick you up. Special permits are required for transportation entry at most airports, which causes a problem for these two companies. However, I am hoping it will be resolved in the future.
In Denver, most of the drivers were locals and were able to recommend places and things to see. However, I tried Uber in my home city and my driver was formally a Yellow Cab driver. After talking to him comparing Yellow Cab and Uber, he said that many cab drivers are making the switch.
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While using Uber and Lyft in Denver, we were checking out the local microbreweries. The four of us took turns on who paid for a fare, which ended up working well. There is an option within the app to split the fare with your friends, which makes it even easier. Don’t have a friend to split the fare with? That is ok. UberPool and Lyft Line are new ways of sharing fares to save even more money. Find others who are riding a similar route. Learn more by clicking on the links above.