# Going to use Uber for the first time in a couple of weeks, and I have questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 8, 2016, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531 "2016-04-08T08:56:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531/21 "2016-04-11T12:57:17Z")
They must really gouge hotel users. When I take them to my family’s home in NW Tucson, it’s usually 33 bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531/22 "2016-04-11T13:53:59Z")
The Hotel may have a free or low cost Shuttle themselves that goes to and from the airport. You should double check. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531/23 "2016-04-11T14:42:48Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > The Hotel may have a free or low cost Shuttle themselves that goes to and from the airport. You should double check. He did in post #10. The $50 option is the one suggested by the hotel. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531/24 "2016-04-11T14:52:53Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > 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. This is very, very common. So much so that for people like me who are often near airports it becomes an issue. Not long ago I needed a pickup on the outskirts of the airport because that’s where I was. So the dude phones me _after_ he’s inside the usual terminal gridlock madhouse asking me where I really am. I said “Right where my pin is; one intersection \*before \*you get committed to entering the terminal gridlock.” :smack: 20 minutes later he made it around to where I was and we drove off away from the airport. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531/25 "2016-04-12T03:56:30Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > That’s the fifty dollar option, unfortunately. C’mon, they need that 50 bucks so they can hire a copywriter who can do better than “By choosing Arizona Stagecoach, you can avoid putting the “Ugh!” in lugging luggage.” Will there be an open bar? That’s a good way to turn this whole trip into a profit deal. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531/26 "2016-04-12T04:00:07Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > The Hotel may have a free or low cost Shuttle themselves that goes to and from the airport. You should double check. Is this actually common for hotels that are a half hour from the airport in question? I would only expect it if the hotel was so close that it had the word “airport” in the name of the property. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531/27 "2016-04-12T09:31:09Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Is this actually common for hotels that are a half hour from the airport in question? I would only expect it if the hotel was so close that it had the word “airport” in the name of the property. Quite common – because those hotels are competing with the ones that are real close to the airport. The exception might be if one of the nearby hotels is part of the same chain as the downtown ones. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531/28 "2016-04-12T13:33:45Z")
IME distant hotels offering free shuttles to/from the airport is real common in some cities and real uncommon in others. IOW, it’s the usual setup with local competition: nobody offers a costly amenity until somebody does. Then they’re all stuck (grudgingly) doing it. Until they can find an excuse to stop offering it more or less in sync. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531/29 "2016-04-12T13:55:10Z")
I have found that from the airport to a destination in the city (this is applicable to most major cities in the US) that Uber and a taxi are similarly priced, but you have to wait longer for the Uber, while there is normally a taxi line and you just walk up and get in. Getting from somewhere in the city back to the airport, Uber is more convenient and better priced. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531/30 "2016-04-12T15:50:01Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Is this actually common for hotels that are a half hour from the airport in question? I would only expect it if the hotel was so close that it had the word “airport” in the name of the property. I believe it is. If anything there is a a sweet spot of distance where it is very common because providing the shuttle is the only way to get those travelers to stay that far from the airport. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531/31 "2016-04-13T17:12:04Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > 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. This or you meet them at Departures, not Arrivals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-use-uber-for-the-first-time-in-a-couple-of-weeks-and-i-have-questions/751531.md?page=1)