Taxi and limousine alternative Uber has expanded its London service to include UberX, a lower-priced option with lower-end cars.
"We're merging the value of minicabs with the efficiency and instant gratification of Uber," the company said on a blog post on Wednesday. The service is only in beta to start, so as the company ramps up, there may be occasions when customers only have the option to use the higher-priced UberLux option.
The UberX service uses cars such as the BMW 3 Series sedan or Toyota Prius.
Fees are significantly cheaper than the UberLux service, which uses higher-end cars. For example, the base cost is 3 pounds instead of 5 pounds, the per-mile charge is 1.75 pounds rather than 4 pounds, and the cancellation fee is 5 pounds instead of 10 pounds. A trip from central London to Heathrow airport costs between 30 and 45 pounds.
In San Francisco, the UberX service costs less than a conventional taxi. A central feature of the Uber service is a smartphone app that lets people summon cars, track when they'll arrive, and pay automatically.
Uber has run into several regulatory barriers in many cities, but it's expanding fast.
It's now available in these cities: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, London, Los Angeles, Lyon, Mexico City, Miami, Milan, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Munich, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Rome, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Seoul, Singapore, Stockholm, Taipei, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C., and Zurich.
The company is also going upscale. For New Yorkers wanting to reach holiday homes in the Hamptons, Uber charges bewteen $300 to $500 per trip -- and at least on the day that service launched, it offered a helicopter trip, too.
"We're merging the value of minicabs with the efficiency and instant gratification of Uber," the company said on a blog post on Wednesday. The service is only in beta to start, so as the company ramps up, there may be occasions when customers only have the option to use the higher-priced UberLux option.
The UberX service uses cars such as the BMW 3 Series sedan or Toyota Prius.
Fees are significantly cheaper than the UberLux service, which uses higher-end cars. For example, the base cost is 3 pounds instead of 5 pounds, the per-mile charge is 1.75 pounds rather than 4 pounds, and the cancellation fee is 5 pounds instead of 10 pounds. A trip from central London to Heathrow airport costs between 30 and 45 pounds.
In San Francisco, the UberX service costs less than a conventional taxi. A central feature of the Uber service is a smartphone app that lets people summon cars, track when they'll arrive, and pay automatically.
Uber has run into several regulatory barriers in many cities, but it's expanding fast.
It's now available in these cities: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, London, Los Angeles, Lyon, Mexico City, Miami, Milan, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Munich, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Rome, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Seoul, Singapore, Stockholm, Taipei, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C., and Zurich.
The company is also going upscale. For New Yorkers wanting to reach holiday homes in the Hamptons, Uber charges bewteen $300 to $500 per trip -- and at least on the day that service launched, it offered a helicopter trip, too.
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The situation Uber has brought is an unlimited number of barely regulated taxis on the streets of SF. More taxis is not the solution. More busses, bicycles, and walking is the solution. More power to anyone who drives Uber and its imitators from the streets of our fair city, and don't let the Golden Gate hit your a$$ on the way out...
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