Mimar

I've seen Beat or taxibeat recommended as an app to call a taxi in Athens and not be overcharged. The app is highly rated in Tripadviser but I'm a bit skeptical on TA reviews.

Anybody here know about this app?

clausar

In Athens i only use Beat ( renamed from taxiBeat) and i can recommend it 100%.
You get a list with all nearby drivers and you can decide which one to call based on their rating, type of car and the languages that they speak.
I never hail a taxi on the street, i only use Beat because i like the politeness of the drivers, the clean cars, the air conditioning ( this is Athens after all....)
and the fact that i always receive a receipt, and can also pay with a credit card. ( personally i have my paypal on file and i get charged automatically)

You can follow the itinerary on your smart phone and this stays on file, so that no one can drive you around with no reason.

I guess i am a happy customer of Beat, just like all my friends

I wouldn't know what negative could be found about it, in the 4 years that i use it i had not a single reason to complain about.

Huitres

Hi clausar: Thanks for the useful information about this app and the details. I will be traveling to Greece in October and wondered if Uber would be available at the Athens airport to get to my hotel? This sounds very similar to Uber, is it comparable to Uber’s pricing as well? I use Uber often as it is much cheaper than taxis but don’t know how this would be in Europe. Has this taxi Beat service replaced Uber in Athens? Also, if this is an app, is it absolutely necessary for me to have Wi-Fi or can I still access it without Wi-Fi?

clausar

TaxiBeat is older than Uber in Greece, and yes you need WiFi to access it.

Uber stopped operating in Greece a couple of months ago, after a new law was introduced.
Beat is now the new name of TaxiBeat, you can call it from the Airport , which if i am correct offers free wifi...

Huitres

Thanks clausar: I inquired w/ the Greek hotels I will be staying at and asked about Beat. I thought it operates similar to the Uber system with drivers in random marked Beat cars. I was surprised to learn they only drive taxis - like all the other taxi drivers. How does this service offer an advantage to just walking out of the terminal and hailing a taxi? How is it different? It appears to be the same service - is it less money to use Beat? If it's a lower fee to get into a "Beat" taxi vs a regular taxi, then we will try it.

travelerjan

I believe the attraction of BEAT is that you don't have to worry abuot being overcharged by an unscrupulous driver. It is no problem to/from airport because by now everyone know the flat-fee... but people going to/from Piraaus and other destinations have sometimes beeen taken advantage of. If you don't want touse BEAT and are leaving from your hotel, you can easliy ask the desk to etimate what the fare wold be to a given place, then tell the driver when you gtet in, My hotel tells me the fare to___ this time of day will be about €___ on the meter.

Huitres

Thanks travelerjan. I'm an avid Uber user in Europe and am disappointed it is no longer in Greece. I think we may try BEAT from the airport to our hotel (near the Acropolis) and see how it goes. I prefer knowing the set fare vs being surprised at our destination to learn how much we are being charged!

travelerjan

Huitres. A clarification Its OK to use BEAT from the airport, but not as necessary as in other instances ... what I was trying to convey is that the Airport is well-known now for an OFFICIAL flat fee of €38, so there are few instances of a taxi driver "trying something on" -- because passengers will just laugh, hand him €38 and omit a tip because of his action. The real usefulness of BEAT is for rides to other places where you don't know the usual fare. Those were the times I have suggested telling the driver upon getting in, what you know the usual fare probably will be.

Incidentally as an "avid UBER user" perhaps you are not aware of the extreme hardship it's causing in NYC, where the city has just imposed a limit on how many UBER drivers can operate there. The taxi industry there has long operated on a "medallion" basis (only a certain # of "medallions" issued for taxis, so assure that all taxis will get sufficient rider business) - thus the price of a medallion has zoomed to many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some taxi owners who bought after mediallion cost zoomed are so debt-burdened they often cannot make ends meet despite driving 12-15 hrs per day, and then having another person drive for 8 hours. Drivers are committing suicide. Another example of innovation that creates convenience for some, but collateral damage for others, alas.

Huitres

travelerjan: Thanks for the clarification re: the set pricing vs going to places without knowing the usual fare. We will try BEAT from the Athens airport this time and see how it goes. Re: the other information, I am not surprised that Uber, Lyft and these other car services are hampering the taxi business. I was unaware of the situation in NYC. For me, in Europe, it was a nice alternative to a taxi where fares tend to be more "fluid" dependent on the route the taxi driver chooses to take and where they drive. I myself preferred driving with Uber cars because I didn't have to exchange any money or anything in the car, knowing I would be charged a set, specific rate afterwards that would be billed against by cc.

clausar

I only use Beat in Athens, also when arriving at the airport because i can choose the driver based on their rating, you are given some extra information about each driver such as languages that he speaks, if his car has a/c, you see the model of the car and it's age and above all all drivers are super polite and the cars are extremely clean.

During the drive he won't talk unless you engage him in a conversation.. ( unlike many other taxi drivers...lol)

All together you get a professional service something that is not always guaranteed if you hail a taxi on the street or get one form the line at the Airport.
You can also pay with your credit card, something that others may try to avoid

Uber was very successful in Athens, but the union of taxi drivers and owners was strong enough to demand regulations in Uber's activity which resulted with a new law about hiring cars with drivers online. That forced unfortunately Uber out of business, but it hasn't left the country yet.

Huitres

Thanks for the additional useful information clausar, your experience with BEAT is much appreciated!

live42day

Thanks for this. Going next week for a couple of days. Didn't realize how far the airport is from the area we are staying in. Do you tip on top of the fixed price? If so, how much? Thank you

Huitres

Hi live42day: I used Taxi Beat the entire time we were in Athens this past Oct-Nov and it was great. It operates just like UBER so there is no money added or exchanged. It is a fixed price that is charged against your credit card loaded to the app. If you wish to tip on top of that, it is not obligated or required and would most likely have to be paid with cash (there isn't a way to add that into the pre-set total for the drive). The only slightly different thing to get used to vs UBER is that they are all in the same color cars as taxis so while taxis will approach you (at the airport, etc) to drive you somewhere, it is extremely important to read the front license plate number of your BEAT taxi to make sure you get into the right car! Many times other taxis would stop right in front of us at the exact same time we were expecting our BEAT taxi, so we had to be careful to read plates first. Overall, we found the entire service very convenient and liked the fixed price information up front, in advance vs the fluidity in pricing that comes with taxis. Have a great trip and enjoy Greece!

clausar

There is actually no fixed price for Beat, what you see in their App is only an estimation....
If there is lots of traffic or you have to take another route due to closed streets etc, the price can vary.
But there is no rip off, you pay the fair official rate, something that is not always the case if you hail a taxi on the street and you are not familiar with how to get
to your destination... ( which applies to many Athenians as well due to the size of Metropolitan Athens)

You can tip with cash... if you choose credit card there is no way to add a tip to the amount to be charged. I always pay with PayPal, which Beat has on file.
but always give a tip in cash which is between 1 and 1,50 Euro ( never more....)

Huitres

Thanks clausar, perhaps I worded my response incorrectly. I meant that for me, TAXI BEAT was very similar to UBER in that it posted an initial price once a ride was confirmed, and the driver and car/license plate was identified. The prices for all our rides stayed more or less the same, so in that regard, they were "fixed prices" IMO in that we knew what to expect of the cost. It rarely was off the initial rate quoted, and if so, by just a few euros. Occasionally, we tipped the driver, but there was never the expectation to do so. Either way, it is a great transportation option in Athens and we will continue to use it when we return. Live42day, have a great trip!

ajap777

Hello!
I plan to travel to Athens in several months. I went ahead and downloaded BEAT just to get an estimate of the general pricing (by distance).

I entered my phone number but was not able to receive the pin code that it sent via SMS. is this because I have an American phone number? Did anyone else have this issue?

Huitres

The TAXI Beat app can be used in wifi, regardless of whether you have European service on your line or not. If you are more comfortable, you can communicate easily with the What's App app and notifications come through there. We had no problem inside the airport with wifi contacting Taxi Beat and the car would come to our location. Typically, the Athens airport had designated areas to stand and wait for the pick-up. A license plate number is provided and that is how to distinguish against the other flurry of Greek taxis - look carefully otherwise you will get into a regular taxi!

starrs

Thanks for the info and description. I just downloaded the app!

starrs

I used it in Athens last week. Loved it. Operates like Uber/ Lyft apps.

Huitres