Whathello

Don't forget to tip the driver. If you import Uber import tipping too.
The taxis I took in Lisbon were not filthy I didn't wait in line and the driver was very polite and explained things along the way. Are your taxis filthy at home ? Too bad for your home. When I take taxis they are in their vast majority clean.
I may have paid 15 or 25. That is what I mean with 'in the 20'.
Cheap. I have no reason to destroy an industry for 5 Euros the one time in 20 years I go to a country.
Rip off ? Maybe then... Uber a good system ? I doubt it. Are the drivers of uber better paid than taxis ? Are they better insured ?
Make your choice. Respect mine.
If you need to save 2-3 bucks on an overseas trip upon arrival maybe you should stay home and save the cost of the flight.

Myer

thursdaysd,

For some reason you feel Lyft is "ok" and Uber isn't. Can you explain.

Whathello,

I've been in taxis where every piece is rattling and the windows had to be left open due to lack of A/C working.

And we're not splitting hairs over 2-3 bucks.

If the taxi fair is well over $50 and I can get a better, cleaner ride without waiting in line for half that cost it's worth it.

Two years ago we went to DC. We had just gotten off a train from NYC and I suggested to my wife that we walk to the taxi area quickly. We didn't stop for the washroom. We walked directly. Almost running. When we got there about half a dozen people were ahead of us. In the time it took us to get our taxi the line behind us had grown to well over 30 people.

Whathello

After loacker and Wesley I have no energy left.
You are right on all counts.
Get an Uber.
Google 'uber' and 'lisbon' and I am sure you'll find how to use it.
However your experience in the US in worthless in Europe.
Happy travel.

Lisbon_Eagle

I just wanted to say, time and again, tourism has little to do with reality.

Most of the times, tourists have an opinion based on 2-3 days in a place, and they think they know it all.

Lisbon's airport taxi drivers have an awful reputation in Portugal, for example.

Your experience does not change that.

There's a reason why Uber is around... there is demand. Otherwise, it wouldn't exist.

Either way, use whatever you want. In every service, there's pros and cons.

ribeirasacra

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...mment-10061611
***Lisbon's airport taxi drivers have an awful reputation in Portugal, for example.****
Then it is about time "they" got off their backsides and wake up. If you say is true then maybe UBER should win, but where taxis are considered to be generally honest. Leave the system alone.

limmy

I used Uber in Rome to get home after dinner in Testaccio. It was late, we were tired, a little boozy and couldn't find a taxi stand. Uber to the rescue, worked great.

That is typically the scenario when I end up using Uber (or preferably Lyft when available) over a taxi.

Sometimes an Uber estimate to the airport will be less than a taxi but you never know how much you will end up paying until the moment you actually need it since Uber has flexible rates depending on demand at any given time. I tested this myself recently. I got an Uber estimate for the time of day I'd need to travel to airport which was just a hair less than my regular taxi service rate. I booked the usual taxi service. When it came time to actually travel to the airport I got another uber estimate just to see and it was more than 20% higher than my taxi rate at that very moment, there was a surge in pricing. So it's a gamble that may or may not benefit you in the end. If you live in an area with plentiful taxis then this is no big deal, you could get both estimates and make decision on the spot. I do not live in such an area and if I want taxi service to airport it must be prearranged so for me it would be a gamble to plan on Uber in that scenario.

In general Uber/ride share industry is much less regulated than the taxi industry is. Uber drivers are not nearly as well vetted as Taxi drivers are. And it is much more difficult, if possible at all, to collect on damages suffered by assault or vehicular accident with Uber. I've had a very bad and scary experience with Uber. With a taxi the worst I've encountered is a stinky car and broken AC.

thursdaysd

"For some reason you feel Lyft is "ok" and Uber isn't. Can you explain."

I don't think it is OK, I think it is less bad. Mostly due to the egregious behaviour of the possibly-former CEO of Uber. I have only used Lyft twice (when limping painfully around DC), and Uber not at all, and my first Lyft driver had also driven for Uber and much preferred Lyft.

In Europe I use public transport.

StacyB

DC area resident here. I think it is foolish to expect that when a large train arrives that the taxi rank line will remain empty--in a tourist filled city whether at Union Station or Termini. There is more than one taxi in the line and those lines move smoothly.

We generally use public transit such as bus or light rail to move around European cities. Used a bus in Lisbon to travel to and from the airport. No worries and quite easy! Other people take taxis, or a company such as Uber. To each her own.

thursdaysd--Uber has a new CEO and she's committed to getting things back on track!

ribeirasacra

***thursdaysd--Uber has a new CEO and she's committed to getting things back on track!***
Now where have we hard that they are going to clear the swap (get things back)?

limmy

Do you mean drain the swamp ribierasacra?

Belinda

Pony Express used to be the custom too. Things change.

There are plenty of European cities where cheating taxis are part of the game. To pretend they don't exist is just as silly as saying that Uber is an American evil.

Whathello, you're being obtuse. Part of Uber's benefit is you don't tip.

thursdaysd

"Part of Uber's benefit is you don't tip"

No longer true.


https://www.uber.com/ride/how-it-works/tips/

Myer

My preference is to use public or semi public (shuttles) when I can and when it's convenient.

I'll probably use the shuttle bus from Lisbon airport as it stops about 100 yards from my hotel.

I don't know if Uber works in Florence but I'll probably take the shuttle bus from that airport as it's only a couple of minute walk from the stop to my hotel as well.

From Rome Termini we probably have an issue with taxi lines.

Whathello

Uber is an American evil ?
Stupidest thing I've read on the subject.
But yes you have pro and con for taxis and uber and usually one chooses one side.
Reading the comments about taxis in USA it seems we definitely have much better ones in Europe.
Could be that uber is a us solution for a us problem. And us tourists consider the European taxis should be as bad as in the us and therefore uber is needed.
I don't find taxis in Europe to be filthy and drivers to be crooks.
So I don't see the need for uber.
But we only take in average one taxi per week. I could have been lucky in the last 250 rides.

Boolanger

Whathello,

"So I don't see the need for uber."

Spoken like my 90 year old Grandfather! (Unfortunately, he didn't see a need for hearing aids either)