how do ubers work? Difference between taxis and ubers

[789vghu8]

My DH and I are thinking of booking a week away and leaving the teens at home they are 19 and 17 - they are both currently learning to drive but not passed their test as yet. We live in a town with a relatively good bus service but we pick kids up and give lifts if we are free.

When we are away they will get taxis or ubers. Ubers are relatively new to our town and when I look to say book one on a saturday lunchtime in advance to go 4 miles to the other side of town it quotes £25 but if went now it would cost £12.

Never done ubers before and I thought they were a much cheaper way of travelling. Son doesn't want to take a risk and book on the day as he could risk not being able to get a driver. Is this how ubers work?

Is it more cost and effective an better for them to just get regular taxis?

I am presuming the difference is ubers are cheaper for on demand now travelling and taxis for booking in advance.

Yes, I think if you want to book ahead of time you will end up paying a premium, as the driver is limited ahead of that time to being in your location.

Unless there is a particular busy event in the town, it probably is best to book ‘live’ and see what the prices are then and there.

Surge pricing means uber isn’t always the cheapest option.

Taxi vs. Uber - What's the Difference? | This vs. That

I don’t find Ubers are cheaper necessarily, just more convenient because you can book via the app and pay by card, which isn’t always true of local taxi firms (in this area). However yes, they do charge a premium for booking in advance so I probably wouldn’t do that with an Uber if you have other local taxi options.

I think it depends on your local taxi firms. Here, they are notoriously unreliable and even prebooked don't always turn up. Whereas Uber is great and always readily available, so no need to book ahead.

The price varies according to supply and demand, so will be more expensive when there's more demand for cars.

At 17 and 19yo, my boys were teaching me about Uber...

Thank you. Very helpful tips here.

Whereas Uber is great and always readily available

Depends on where you live though. Round here Uber is brand new - like it is where the OP is - and it's impossible to get one at peak times as there are so few drivers. Hoping that will change quickly.

That's exactly what I said 😆

I use taxis as cheaper but when needed for my teen DD I use Uber cause that way I can track the car so I can see where she is etc

Down side is they use Dynamic pricing. You ask for a price ask for availability 1 minute later go to book and has gone up sometimes by a lot.