So, what are you gonna do, Cheryl??????

Whilst UBER is good for back home please remember not to think like you are back home. A lot of European cites have trained and regulated taxi drivers.
That is one reason why UBER is not often welcomed or has to work with registered drivers.
There are more than enough taxis in Amsterdam, just like other Dutch cities.
Here is the offical word on what you can expect.
http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visitin...g-around/taxis

ribeirascara, thank you for the attachment.

Lets just say, I am a good citizen traveler, and will joyfully line up at the taxi queue at the airport.

Thanks everyone.

Fodors is fantastic!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/taxi...438611185?mt=8

well, the Amsterdam taxi market is a battlefield. Taxis were deregulated a few years back and this caused ugly scenes at Amsterdam CS's taxi stand, so ugly that to this day there is official security staff to make sure things don't get out of hand. That's because with deregulation it wasn't obligatory anymore to take the first taxi in a row of waiting taxis. This really upturned the apple cart for Taxi Centrale Amsterdam, that doled out roles among its riders based on that system. One of the jokes is that TCA really means "Taxi Criminals Amsterdam"

One of the deregulation measures was to encourage competition outside of TCA's iron grip on the market. They have this grip because of the licensing system itself. After a few years, our transport minister declared that taxi deregulation was a failed experiment and introduced some legislation that repaired the most glaring legal oversights and that was that.

One of the reasons why Schiphol is such a closed shop, with its TCA dominance is because the rides to Amsterdam are so lucrative.

If it were me needing transport into Amsterdam, I would book a car in advance. No hassle, someone meets you in arrivals, and there's a flat fee. Peace of mind.

Uber seems then menachem like a breath of fresh car service- it will make licensed taxis be nicer, etc.

Still can't understand if it is illegal as some above say how come they operate so openly - one post far above says the hotel they booked recommended Uber - more competition the better as closed shops like TCA often result in more expensive and less client-oriented service. Many long waits for one thing will be improved upon and short ride cheap fares may not be neglected, etc.

Q for Uber riders - do you tip a Uber driver like a cab or do they tip cabbies, which seems to be universal - stupid question I guess but not sure as Uber is a different type creature.

Again I don't car I've only taken taxis a few times in decades of European travel but I certainly understand why one would.

If it were me needing transport into Amsterdam, I would book a car in advance. No hassle, someone meets you in arrivals, and there's a flat fee. Peace of mind.>

menachem- what kind of service are you talking about - not a taxi or Uber- but a private car service - how much does it cost vs taxi? How does one find a car service in advance?

thanks

Pal, you didn't address that last post to me but I have arranged airport transfer many times in many cities. All you do is google city name + airport transfer a dozen+ companies will show up, for major cities anyway. Amsterdam ought to have plenty to pick from.

This is the way we get TO the airport from home on the outbound almost every time we fly.

http://amsterdam-airporttaxi.com/

nearly every taxi company does flat fee airport taxi rides that you can book ahead of time.

http://www.shuttleamsterdam.com/

Again: Uber can operate it's "car sharing service" (haha!), it's Uber Pop that's illegal.

I don't know about competition. Things got really ugly when they tried to deregulate, for customers too.

I will answer your question Pal, no you don't tip Uber drivers.

can that last post be removed? it's spam.

As a visitor, I recently took uber in the city after 10:30pm one weekend. Within few min, there was a taxi behind our car almost tried to rear end our car. I was scared and asked the driver about this. He told me taxi driver intimidation is common occurrence in Amsterdam. And that's why you see fewer uber drivers and surge pricing more often than other cities. I hope the city government looks into this so tourists are not harmed. It won't be good for the city.

mightypen, the city government has tried to curb the all powerful TCA organisation for decades. Didn't work. 10 years ago it was an even greater shambles. One customer was even beaten to death by a taxi driver over a "who is in line to pick up the customer" dispute. The situation in front of central station was a disgrace: they had to post security there to deal with the fights that broke out all the time.

People still remember the "taxi war" of 2000.