Avoiding Cross Border Fees (and Other Hidden Costs) with Uber Singapore

September 25, 2015 by Mark Chua in Guide

I am generally a huge Uber fan and on average, I make use of the service (mostly UberX) at least five times a week. While there are many other substitutes around (e.g. GrabTaxi, CDG and Hailo), I feel that Uber has the most transparent pricing available and it also offers the most fuss-free experience. What you might not know though is that in some cases, what you see in your Uber app is not always what you are being charged on your credit card statement. There are many reasons for this and I am going to cover them (so we can all avoid this unintentionally):

50% off uberX Rides in Singapore (until 23 August 2015)

August 22, 2015 by Mark Chua in Deals

Get 50% off your uberX ride this weekend in Singapore by using the promo code "MOVESINGAPORE". All you have to do is to split the fare with another uber use - you can sign up using my link to get S$10 credit!

The Taxi Situation in Singapore: A Conversation with an UBER Taxi Driver in Singapore

December 18, 2014 by Mark Chua in Press, Guide

Most of us have experienced the frustration in (not) getting a taxi. Taxis are hard to find, booking charges are ridiculously expensive (not the absolute dollar value but rather, the pricing of it) and when you eventually manage to flag down a taxi, you have to almost pitch your destination to the taxi driver, hoping that he or she will be kind enough to send you there (at full price of course). Check out what my conversation with an Uber Taxi driver in Singapore revealed.

UberX Summer Price Promotion (up to 20% off usual taxi rides) + S$10 Referral Credit

July 10, 2014 by Mark Chua in Deals

Attention all cab-takers and taxi-lovers! Rejoice as UberX becomes cheaper with its Summer Price Promotion. This is particularly useful for those who book their taxis and pay the S$2.30 to S$8 booking fee. Also, you will not need to pay location surcharges with UberX. With all that being said, you should always use the Fare Estimator within the Uber app to get a rough idea on how much will you be required to pay.

With the Summer Price Promotion for UberX, base rate starts at S$3.50 with a minimum spend of S$8. Per KM charge is now S$0.30 and per minute charge is S$0.16 for this promotion. For a more detailed comparison between previous and current promotional pricing, please see the table below:

or those of you that do not already have an existing Uber account, please feel free to use my affiliate link. You will get a free S$10 credit to your account using my link and I will too when you make your first successful UberX trip!

Click HERE to register for Uber (free S$10 credit)!

I have previously covered an Uber(BLACK) review and did not find it to be spectacular from a price point of view but I will most definitely be taking advantage of this UberX promotion.

Safe travels!

Uber(BLACK) Singapore: A Review

March 20, 2014 by Mark Chua

Uber has recently expanded rapidly across many Asian cities, covering over 70 cities worldwide right now. One thing that really caught my attention was its unorthodox method of marketing. During the Chinese New Year period in Singapore, Uber allowed users to request for a Lion Dance performance. It has also partnered with top night clubs to offer free limousine transportation to venues. During Christmas time in USA, Uber also partnered with Home Depot to bring users live Christmas trees.

As such I was extremely excited when I finally got a chance to try it out a couple of weeks ago. I received a complimentary ride (of up to $40) after leaving my account inactive for a while. As such, I decided to request for an Uber Black Limousine from One George Street back home. The iOS application is gorgeous and the recent addition of UberX (a low cost extension of the Uber brand) is easily accessible via the polished interface.

The fare estimator quoted me $39 to $51 for this ride (essentially giving me a free to $11 ride home when using the $40 discount). I requested for an Uber Black taxi and was immediately given one, accompanied with a photo, name and contact details of the driver. The driver then gave me a call to confirm my location which I thought was a nice touch (I had a similar experience using the GrabTaxi app in Kuala Lumpur).

Note: Parts of the photograph, name and car plate number has been removed to protect the identity of the driver.

It was really impressive watching the driver make his way to my location. Until I realised that he wasn't.

Somehow the driver went around in circles and eventually found his way to me (after approximately 20 minutes). During this time, at least thirty vacant taxis went past me. However, when I was finally on the limousine, the taxi driver was pleasant. One really cool feature that Uber provides is the ability to track the ride real-time via web link. In a pretty safe country like Singapore, I do not really see the use of it (apart from it being cool and visually pleasing). Then again, it's probably a great way to know whether or not your friends are truly "reaching soon".

The entire ride ended up on the highest end of the fare spectrum quoted ($51) and was generally a rather pleasant ride. As you may have noticed, assigned drivers come with a rating. At the end of your ride, you may choose to leave a review or feedback which will supposedly affect the driver's overall rating.

As cool as this ride may have been, there really is insufficient justification for the premium (approximately 3x the usual rate) charged over regular taxi rates. Perhaps UberX may cater to those whom enjoy such services without wanting to pay a high price. If you really want to try it and fancy a $20 credit bonus, you may use my link to sign up for a new account (I get $20 credit after you take a ride too!). For now however, I think I'll stick to the regular taxis. Besides, I do enjoy my local conversations with an overly zealous uncle who complains about everything from politics to daily life.