As I’ve mentioned in another post, I’m going to a friend’s wedding in Tucson in three Saturdays (and no, I haven’t decided what I’m wearing yet). I need to get to the hotel, which is half an hour from the airport. I’m guessing that the cheapest way to get there is a ridesharing app like Uber, but I’ve never used it before, so I have two questions:
I don’t have a smartphone — only an iPad, and it’s WiFi only. All the airports I’ll be using to get to Tucson have free WiFi, as far as I know, but otherwise, I won’t generally have Internet access. Is this an issue in any way?
How far in advance will I have to reserve a trip both to and from the airport?
My very limited understanding of Uber includes factoids such as “you need to have the app installed on your device to book a ride.”
Under the circumstances, it might be a good idea to install the app now, so you’ve got it when you need to use the service. While you’re at it, you could see if the FAQs on the website address the questions you have (including the one about whether their drivers are allowed to pick up at the airport).
You need the Uber app, which you can install on your iPad, but you will also need wifi.
You don’t book Uber in advance. You pull up the app, and if there are drivers near you they will show up on the map, along with their time to arrive at your location. If you want to book one, you just click the button.
All of this is moot, though, because I just Googled, and TUS does not allow Uber pickups. Your best options are probably airport shuttle or hotel shuttle.
Uber works by you requesting a ride on the app, and available drivers accepting your request, so there’s no pre-booking. As mentioned, they aren’t allowed to pick up at many airports, but often they can drop off, so check into that when you’re there.
I love Uber, but it’s not always the cheapest option. Take the above advice and call the hotel. Most places will know the going rate and the cheapest options. Some places even have drivers that they regularly work with.
(a little off topic, but it’s been mentioned twice already in this thread:)
What’s up with the ban on airports?
I know that there’s a constant political battle between Uber and local taxi [del]monopolies[/del] companies.
But if a city allows Uber to operate in their area, why do they ban Uber from the airport? And why do they allow drop-off a passenger there, but not picking up new passengers?
Presumably your to-be-wed friends live in Tucson, or have some connection there. Ask them if they have friends who might be able to pick you up, for appropriate compensation.
I’m retired and live near the MSP airport; I often pickup/drop off friends at the airport.
I think my friend would’ve brought it up had he known anyone when I asked him about shuttles and stuff. A lot of folks who’ll be there will also be from out of town, or busy helping, I presume.
I’m just trying to figure out my cheapest option at this point.
So, even if you can’t take Uber from the airport, you can use it when you leave - dropoff is different than pickup. Same tech issues apply: you need to have the app and a wifi connection to request the car.
You might also look at SunTran, depending on where your hotel is. I’ve been gone away from Tucson almost 6 years, but I assume SunTran is still reasonably reliable for a bus-only system.
Even though it’s technically prohibited, all my friends do the same thing: Drop the pin just a tiny bit outside the airport then, when the driver has accepted the ride, call them up and tell them where to really pick you up. The driver will then generally pull over to the side of the road and remove any uber decals from the car and then come to the airport to pick you up. Maybe 10% of the time, the driver will balk at the request which simply means you cancel the ride and try with the next driver.
I’ve used door-to-door shuttle services to get to or from the airport in various cities. Based on a Google search, Arizona Stagecoach operates in Tuscon. You might check how much it would cost for that. (Note that typically, there will be other people on the shuttle bus and they might be dropped off first.)
