Uber

Über what can I say, I was a bit skeptical when I first heard it was coming to Glasgow. I was excited but also a bit nervous. The first time I used über it was a really busy Saturday night and there was no other taxi companies accepting calls. An über was at my location in the matter of minutes, it was also a good 5quid cheaper.
The service so far is very pleasant drivers making even more effort to chat to you, one even ask what sort of music we would like to listen to. Almost like a personal driver service.
A couple of down points at very busy time the rate can jump up to as much as 4x the normal rate. Which if you are drunk you might accidentally hit accept and your cab fare could be very expensive. The app can also be a little tricky to use, sometimes it is not really clear what the current rate is.
If you are careful the charges Über can be a massive hit and a lot cheaper. Just look out for the busy rates.

I was weirdly quite excited to get my first über. There has been so much chat (good, bad and horrific stories) about them across the news over the past couple of years. The draw for me was they are supposed to be cheap and quick. So it sounded like it was worth a try.
I found the app quite tricky to use at first, but now after a month of using them I am starting to get used to it. You need to watch out for the surge pricing at busy times that could end up with you paying double or treble the normal cost, but if you time it right and get the normal fare price it does seem to be slightly cheaper.
The drivers all seem to be pretty friendly, I think mainly cause you get a chance to rate them at the end. So they are trying their best to boost their profiles so people don’t avoid them.
In general I think über is a good thing. It’s another option to get home. They can be cheap and when available they are super quick. It’s also all done via credit card. No cash, which I really prefer. Just watch out for the surge pricing and cancellation charges. (Read the small print)
Ps. Use this code when u first join and get a free ride up to ten pounds — austenm70ue
(I do also get the same free value ride once you use it)

So Über has arrived in Glasgow. I’ve used this service in many other cities but really wasn’t sure about using it in Glasgow as I’ve never really had an issue getting taxis. We’d finished a boozy brunch yesterday and I decided to book an Über home.
Firstly, you need to watch for surge pricing. This pops up as a notification when you try to search for a taxi but I think they could have another reminder in the process, just so you really know what you’ll be paying. It came up with 1.5x surge (meaning you pay 1.5x the normal rate because there’s a high demand). I just cancelled and waited a few minutes before checking again, and the surge period had finished.
I like the app and find it really easy to use — no worrying about where your taxi is because you can see it on the map, no worrying about paying by card or having cash as it’s all done in the app so you just hop out at the end. Our taxi arrived within a few minutes and we were on our way.
A trip into the city centre for us with our usual taxi company is £12.50, this ride was just £14, so the prices aren’t really too different (our taxi company had a 15 minute + wait). I’m not going to say that I’d use Über all the time in Glasgow but they’re definitely handy to have. Also, in my experience (probably 30+ rides with Über in various cities) the drivers tend to keep the cars in excellent condition.