My experience with Uber riding in Bangkok

I have been using Uber service for 5 times. There are two types of vehicle service available in Bangkok first is "Uber Black" which is a luxurious taxi service like limousine with a starting price of 45 baht and "UberX" which is regular vehicle with cheaper rate starting from 25 Baht. Uber is operated in Bangkok for 6 months and now I hear they are planning to expand in Phuket next.

My first experience with Uberblack is quite impressive and UberX is above average. Since Uber is an optional service here there are still many problems that I experienced, It is very hard to catch one car especially at peak hours during 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on week days, I have to wait 30 minutes at least to get one to show up on my phone. If the traffic is at heavy and the car is far away from where you are then, don't expect they will fight the traffic coming to pick you up. But Uberblack may take longer which depend on the traffic and sometime they won't.

Most drivers are not experienced and don't know their way around Bangkok. The drivers are entirely depend on their GPS on their iPad to find the route.  

UberBlack is the best service that Uber can offer. The drivers are often polite, smooth driving and experienced driver. You can travel anywhere around central Bangkok with ease. 

At least I met one UberX driver who doesn't know how to operate his device that he accidentally shut off his iPad because the network isn't working, as if you know that the meter rate is based on the assumption of the GPS that run on the iPad, so the meter wasn't run so he won't earn the rate based on the distance. In the end I agreed to pay him in cash but Uber still charged me 45 baht. 

Overall, Uber is an above standard service compare to local taxi. But it is still service in limited area in central Bangkok and numerous of drivers. I wish it can expand the area further so I can pick up a Uber car wherever I go. Uber can be a good choice if you don't want to ride with a taxi.

If you are new to Uber and plan to use its service you can register via this link here and earn a free 200 Baht of credit.