Here's the report:
Starting with the numbers:
At about 11:30 I downloaded the app and scanned a credit card. It took less than
5 minutes to get it set up. The app was pretty intuitive and I called for an Uber to take me from Venezuela & Alberti in Balvanera to Av Balbin & Av Congreso in Coghlan.
App took about 30 seconds to find a driver and said the driver would be there in
5 minutes. It turned out to be
10.
5-10 minutes is about what an Easy Taxi rid takes to come and less than your typical radio taxi. On the other hand at least
10 taxis (libres) passed me by while I was waiting.
Uber estimated the price of the ride to be
87-100 pesos. It turned out to be
$137. Based on the current fares for taxis that trip would be about
$157 in a cab. Plus an additional $20.2 if I had called a radio taxi which I wouldn't have, since as I mentioned, there were plenty of taxis around.
Now on to the trip:
At this point it's worth mentioning that not one of the 10+ taxis libres that passed me while I was waiting was what I would call a taxi
top. This is something I've mentioned several times in this thread, while there are a number of large comfortable taxis out on the street, C5s Fluences etc, they are few and far between and often not radio taxi cars. Getting a top taxi is like winning a lottery, you get a premium ride for the same price as the micro sized smelly clunker that is far more common.
My trip today took 40 minutes, thats a long time to be in a car that smells bad or rattles constantly or has a collapsed suspension that lets you feel every pothole. And at 6'4" 230lbs I care a lot about legroom, and even more about head room. Many taxis have such low roofs in the back that I spend the entire time getting my head bounced off of it.
So with that context onto
the car:
It was a late model VW Amarok which, for those who don't know, is a large pickup truck (h
ere's a pic). It had leather interior, power seats and windows. I sat up front. The car was clean but smelled slightly of cigarette smoke and lemon air freshener; it wasn't that bad but a definite negative. Other than that though the car seemed to be in excellent working condition. The ride quality was in the top percentile of all my taxi journeys, I barely noticed the at grade crossing at Juan B Justo, the cobblestone portion of the trip was barely noticeable as well. Another major ride quality issue I've found are gear changes, this is something that depends on both the car and the driver and through whatever combination of the two they were barely noticeable on this trip.
Finally
the driver
Mid to late fifties very personable. We chatted the whole time (as I often do with taxi drivers). I asked him how he liked Uber so far, he said he was enjoying it, that he had a 3 rides yesterday and 1 earlier today. He's doing it part time to get some extra cash and because he said he enjoys driving through the city. Probably a good thing considering his "day job" is as a colectivero on one of the urban lines. He was pretty optimistic about the future of Uber, he was worried by the story of an Uber car being towed but reassured by the company standing behind the driver. We talked about travel (we've visited some of the same places), transport (he is a fan of the metrobus lanes though isn't sure about the one on the highway). He was good company for the 40 minute drive. He drove with a light touch. I happily gave him a 5 star rating.
In conclusion.
It was a good experience. Even though the estimate was a bit off I still saved money over take a regular taxi. The trip was far more enjoyable as well. I have no doubt I will be a regular customer. Yet I'm just as sure that it won't replace taxis for me. Being often in a hurry the convenience of taking a taxi off the street without needing prior planing means I'll likely continue to use taxis more often than I use Uber.
It will replace Easy Taxi for me, which itself had long since replaced the Radio Taxi dispatchers. I hope Uber does well and motivates taxi drivers to step up their game.