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You are here: Home / Bangkok Living / Using Uber in Thailand: Comfort, Reliability & Cost

Using Uber in Thailand: Comfort, Reliability & Cost

Major post update: Grab Car has acquired Uber in Southeast Asia.

Due to this acquisition, the Uber app will no longer be active in the following countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Uber has combined its operations with Grab to offer ride sharing in Thailand and across most of Southeast Asia.

This change in Thailand just means that you need to use the Grab app to hail a ride. Uber owns almost 30% of Grab,  so essentially you will still be using the same service but through a different app.

If you want a ride in Thailand:

  • Download the Grab app
  • Create an account
  • For new Grab riders, apply promo code GRAB4W and take your first Grab ride free

Still Need the Uber App & a FREE Ride?

The Uber app still operates in over 80 countries around the world,   countries like Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK.

And in Asia  you can use the app  in Hong Kong, India and Taiwan.

If you have any comments about the change in service and what to do next, leave them in the comments section and all be along shortly to answer those for you.

My Uber Review

Here's my Uber review for Thailand anyway. I'm sure you'll still find it useful.

It is based on my experience in Thailand,  but it pretty much applies to Uber everywhere.

It would be fair to say that most people develop a love-hate relationship with the public taxis of Thailand.

They are a blessing when you need an instant ride in the baking heat, and a curse when you get a stinky cab, with a bad driver, in a car that hasn't been MOT'd in 10 years!

It's a lottery.

Sometimes you hit the jackpot and land a new taxi with a driver who takes pride in keeping the seats clean and taking a shower once a day.

Other times you hold onto the door handle for dear life and gasp at every last minute application of the brakes, as you race toward the airport thinking you'd rather be 50,000 feet in the air for 13 hours than in this deathtrap.

The one thing about Thailand is that taxis are cheap, well at least in Bangkok anyway. They are probably among the cheapest taxis in the world.

So hey, what can you expect? You hedge your bets and try and to hail the good ones.

For the most part, the drivers are friendly and they get you there in one piece: In 10 years, I've only been in one taxi that crashed into another car.

They're not all on the scam either, as may be perceived on the islands like Samui and Phuket where the rates are extortionate compared with the big mango.

But upon the birth of my daughter back in 2014, I had to reconsider my travel options. Hospital checkups, vaccinations, mall visits, airport runs, holidays, etc.; I needed a safer option.

I'm just not comfortable taking her in public taxis.

Her mum can't strap herself in to hold onto her because rarely are there belts in the back, when she was breastfeeding there was no privacy, and the hygiene standards, driving standards and car maintenance is not up to scratch.

In short, I feel I am taking a risk riding around in public taxis with her.

uber-black-thailand

Why don't you just get a car?

I have considered it many times, but have held off getting one here because I can't bear the thought of sitting in traffic in Bangkok and getting all stressed out by reckless driving.

The MRT and BTS are super efficient here, and I am cool to take a taxi and pass the stress onto someone else when not travelling with my luuk sau (daughter in Thai).

If I had a car, it would be kept for out of town trips and emergencies rather than daily use.

Enter Uber!

The arrival of Uber in Thailand was a blessing for me, and happened just at the right time, as you can see from the screenshot below, taken not long after my daughter was born.

A little over three quid and I could go from home to the hospital in a luxury sedan.

Uber Taxi Bangkok

For me, Uber is the best thing since Facebook, and it's more useful. I don't have to look at people's selfies, either.

Uber Black is the premium service, and as you can see above it cost me 158 Baht to travel in a brand new Toyota Camry, with blacked out windows and a suited n' booted driver.

The car was cleaner than my mum's house (okay, maybe not that clean) and the driver actually drove like a normal driver that had passed a test.

I was skeptical using Uber at first. I thought the driver would take ages to arrive, it wouldn't be a top end car, and the price would be extortionate. But it was effortless, and I can't believe how many cars were within a couple of kilometers when I made the request in the app.

It's super-easy to get started. Here's what I did:

  • I downloaded the app to my iPad
  • I registered an account
  • I entered my credit card details
  • I did an in-app quote first (it said between 180-225 Baht)
  • I put in my location and desired destination
  • I then watched the driver (literally) driving towards my apartment on the map software inside the app.

The app even gave me a picture of the driver and his name before he arrived. What's more he called me when he was downstairs, and got out and opened the doors for me, my wife and daughter. Just like a chauffeur!

No More Fumbling Around to Pay the Driver

On this particular trip, when we finished at the hospital, I used Uber again to get home. If you're on a quick visit somewhere you often get the same driver.  I have been so impressed with the comfort and quality, paying a little less than double of a public taxi was an absolute non issue.

  • No walking in the baking heat to hail a cab.
  • No wrong turns.
  • No bad smells.
  • No dodgy brake discs or suspension.
  • Awesome, just awesome.

You don't even need to worry about fumbling about for change on the backseat, because the cost is billed straight to your card, and as soon as you arrive you'll receive a receipt with the exact milage travelled and how much you've been billed (by email).

Seriously, try Uber Black in Bangkok. You will be blown away by this service. It really is peanuts to pay for such luxury.

Some had predicted that Uber would take business away from local taxis, and Uber did face a temporary ban and stiff opposition. But it's still going strong.

And honestly, with an increasing amount of people moving to Bangkok and Thailand in general, I doubt the public taxis will be short of a fare. Moreover, Uber Black airport runs are charged at a standard 1,000 Baht, so no doubt most people will still take public taxis in that situation.

A number of expats I've spoken to are using their cars less and opting for Uber on short city trips instead. Why drive when you can be chauffeur driven.

In recent news, Uber has now partnered with Howa, the green taxi operator in Bangkok. So you can now book a Howa taxi through the Uber app by paying a surcharge. This enables Howa's drivers to connect with customers more efficiently using the app.

———

I'd love to know what you think of Uber. So let's share experiences in the comments box below.

Travel safely.

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Comments Sort by : newest | oldest

  1. sidney leonard says

    July 15, 2021 at 4:36 am

    I would appreciate your advice regarding which app, GrabTaxi or GrabCar, my wife should download, in terms of safety and comfort, when she comes to visit Bangkok and will need to travel locally daily. I have read that the differences between GrabTaxi and GrabCar are fares and the car types provided by each of the services with GrabTaxi having metered fare and GrabCar fixed fare, and with GrabTaxi being a regular taxi while GrabCar is a private car. Please confirm/correct this information and tell me which, in your experience, is preferable; in other words, which would you suggest for your wife. Thank you.
    Reply

    Jul 15, 2021 at 4:36 am

    • TheThailandLife says

      July 18, 2021 at 5:40 am

      As you note, Grabcar is a premium service and a private car It's basically a fixed fee chauffeur service instead of a taxi. Grabcar is preferable in my opinion, but depending on where I am I'll just hail any taxi. Both can be booked under the same app. Perhaps your wife would feel more comfortable with Grabcar.
      Reply

      Jul 18, 2021 at 5:40 am

  2. sidney leonard says

    July 12, 2021 at 6:10 am

    Post pandemic restrictions, my wife will be spending a month or so in Bangkok and environs visiting family and reconnoitering living locations in preparation for our permanent move to Thailand, and we believe that perhaps the most convenient and safe method of local travel for her stay there would be by Grab Car. I read your very positive review of Uber Black service and would like to know if you have found GrabCar, which I understand is now legal, to be as satisfactory. Also, please explain how my wife, who is not particularly tech-savvy, can register for the GrabCar app; I assume she will need a Thai phone number to register and for this purpose I believe that she can simply replace the AT&T sim card in her phone with a Thai carrier sim card/Thai phone number and then switch back to the AT&T sim card when she returns to the US. And, will she be able to opt for payment by savings account debit when she registers? Thank you.
    Reply

    Jul 12, 2021 at 6:10 am

    • JamesE says

      July 12, 2021 at 11:16 pm

      First, Uber no longer operates in Thailand, for ride hailing apps Grab is now the only option. "Convenient and safe"... It's not bad from all reports but no form of surface transport is really a good choice in Bangkok due to the traffic. I'm not a fan of ride hailing apps as a significant portion of your money goes to the company and not to the driver. My personal preference is meter cabs. While other people have reported all sorts of taxi scams I have not had a single problem in the 10 years I've been going to BKK regularly. Something else to consider is to use GrabCar a couple of times and find a driver that your wife likes, then contract with that driver directly for rides. It'll be cheaper for her and better for the driver.

      Yes, to register she'll need a Thai SIM. Download the app and it will walk her through the registration. Payment options are cash and credit card. If her debit card is a branded card - MC, Visa, Etc. - then it should work.

      Switching SIMs works well but current SIMs are pretty easy to misplace. (Ahem...) I've used Dual-SIM phones (which are now hard to get in the US) since 2014 but she could also consider a separate phone for use in Thailand. Once you get a Thai SIM there's still a bit of setup that they can do at the shop (at least there was as of a couple years ago).
      Reply

      Jul 12, 2021 at 11:16 pm

  3. Tristen says

    April 8, 2019 at 9:47 am

    Hi TTL, I am travelling to Thailand in late May with my 2 daughters. We are flying to Phuket but are staying at Kata Beach, would you recomend using uber/grab or a taxi? Just checking if Uber is still in use.
    thank you :-)
    Reply

    Apr 08, 2019 at 9:47 am

    • James E says

      April 8, 2019 at 10:38 pm

      Uber and Grab merged a while back in SE Asia. Grab, being basically a taxi hailing service, doesn't really get you anything in terms of pricing (but you might get a little nicer ride). The taxis from the airport to hotels/beaches were operating on a fixed price/destination. If you're staying at a hotel check with them as many can recommend a minibus/shared-ride if you need the extra space. There's also the public bus but it'll be less than a direct trip. One other thing to consider is that taxis on Phuket are not the bargain they are in most other places in Thailand. I typically end up renting a car which can be had for an extremely reasonable price if you use the Thai booking website and not the global one. For example, using Avis Thailand costs about a third of booking through Avis.com. If you're going to want to go out to dinner or sight-see around the island you'll save a lot with your own car.
      Reply

      Apr 08, 2019 at 10:38 pm

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