Tech
Uber car service now available in Toronto
Uber has arrived in Toronto. In a somewhat surprising move, the San Francisco-based car service has picked Toronto as its second international location. This follows earlier expansion to Paris late last year and operations in seven US cities. While there's no official word from the company, last month Toronto popped up as a secret destination on the Uber web site and tweets have been flying fast and furiously over at the Uber Toronto Twitter feed. On Sunday, they made somewhat of a splash driving VIPs and volunteers to and from the Toronto Underground Market.
For those unfamiliar, Uber operates similarly to Toronto-born service Winston (which incidentally modeled itself after Uber) which has a few months head start on its now well-funded US competitor. Anyone with a credit card can create an Uber account via the company's web site, iPhone or Android apps and call for car service to and from the airport or anywhere around the city.
Like Winston, rates are typically more expensive than a cab but less than the cost of limo service. There's a $15 minimum and rates currently posted to the Uber web site indicate a flat fee of $65 from anywhere in Toronto to Pearson and $78 the other way. Tax and tip are included as once you create an Uber account all rides (transactions) are processed digitally. More details (and rates) can be found here.
Discussion
34 Comments
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
Thanks so much for including us in the story! We welcome the competition from the South-
Ps: We'll have some big news for you soon :)
Where's the extra value?
If I need a private car service I can pre-schedule one (which you can't do with Uber) and then have it arrive right when I want and have everything billed to my credit card.
I'm really not understanding this.
Everyone takes cabs to the airport and when travelling around town to meetings. We have to be accountable for our expenses, now moreso than ever. My boss would be all over everyones' case if we were taking private cars to go out to the airport or to client meetings.
We get cab chits so the company picks up the tab for that too.
The only time the expense of a private car could be justified would be if we were going out to a dinner with clients or doing something with members of the executive or the board. In that case we'll just use one of our company cars or pre-schedule a ride with a limo service that allows pre-scheduling.
I don't know anyone who could justify to their boss the expense of using a private car service for everyday use because they "didn't like taking cabs".
If the cost of a limo (roughly $45 to the airport, plus tips) wasn't comparable to regular taxis anyways, I'd never even think of taking a limo. People who can't sit on a less-than-luxurious car seat for just half an hour are beyond me.
I'm one of the co-founders of HireWinston. I can't speak for Uber, but can provide some insight since our service is similar. HireWinston launched out of Toronto this fall and we built it specifically for the business traveller (we're launching a Blackberry app, pre-scheduled trips, Outlook Calendar integration, charge-code entry, and our sedans are a fair bit cheaper than Uber's).
We've found that companies are happy to pay a little more for the service than taxis because of the visibility it gives them into their car service expenses. Instead of hand written chits and taxi receipts that can be abused by drivers and employees, our receipts include a detailed, accurate, GPS verified record of the transaction. Companies are actually approaching us and encouraging their employees to use HrieWinston because of the control and visibility it gives them.
(Easy booking, real-time driver location tracking, premium ride, and hands-free payment are just icing on the cake)!
Most Toronto cabbies don't take pride in their cabs or their driving, sadly.
i learn by that blog This makes no sense to me. I can call the local "limo" service via speeddial and get a car ASAP, pay with ease with my credit card,
Uber is essentially an upscale high tech taxi service that is available on demand without having to call and talk to anyone or have the driver call trying to find your address. It also includes the tip, which definitely closes the gap on taxi fares, and you don't have to handle cash or hope for a cab that accepts cards either, it bills your card automatically with your expenses tracked on your account with them.
I hope they do well in Toronto because I hate trying to hail a cab on Queen street at 2am or pre-booking a car to the Airport when I'm not sure exactly when I'm going to be ready. Or realizing I have no cash on me when I need a taxi, etc...
keep it up buys
Brent downtown To
motive, and that is also happening with
this article which I am reading at this time.
This code gives whoever signs up with it (your friends, family, colleagues, etc) a 100% free Black Car ride up to $40, good up until March 15th (at midnight). It is for new users only!
Expires Mar 15/13
PROMO CODE: uberfree618142
car service in nj
new jersey Limousine