Uber in the DR -- I finally GET IT!!

Well, we're in-country for our residency application.  And after over a year on expat.com I have a confession to make:

I THOUGHT ALL YOU FOLKS WHO TALKED ABOUT NOT HAVING A CAR, AND RELYING ON UBER WERE, WELL, JUST KIND OF CRAZY. 

Fortunately, I have just seen the light!!!'

Since the dawn of the Uber age, we've lived in the USA's Inter-mountain West, away from the early-adopting major cities.  Since 2010, we've lived in a quiet corner of rural Idaho, outside a small town of about 4,000 residents.   We've had nearly zero opportunity to ride in an Uber, and frankly, simply didn't see the need.  And it required one of those new-fangled smart phones, too! 

Time passed...and we did finally upgrade to smart phones...but still didn't try Uber.  uber was for city folk, not us down-to-earth country folks.

Last year, we spent two weeks in Santo Domingo, and got along just fine with regular taxis...though it was a little troublesome to call for them, sometimes, we thought they worked just fine, and prices seemed lower than in the States.  Yes, most of the taxi drivers tried to apply "gringo pricing," and mostly we didn't cooperate. thanks to reading on expat.com.  That negotiating was an "added feature" that we found humorous, but it was becoming tedious, too. 

This year, we're back in Santo Domingo again...and just for entertainment purposes, thought my wife and I should try Uber...mainly just so we could brag about it to the grand-kids. 

Okay...we're now five days into the trip, and have occasion to use Uber about 9 time. 

WOW!!!  i HAVE BEEN CONVERTED TO THE RELIGION OF UBER USERS!!

The uber app is SOOOOO easy to use.   And the prices are SOOOOOO cheap!!!!!  Our most expensive trip has been $3.30 US, and that was struggling through rush hour traffic for quite a distance.  Most of the rides are below $2.00 without tip...and even with a 15% tip they rarely went over $2.25.  And, NO NEGOTIATION REQUIRED!!  The hassle factor advantage against taxis is considerable.

Finally, I see what everyone has been talking about.  UBER IS HUUUUUGE BLESSING, and quite a tool for the expat.   I can see how one could get along without a personal vehicle, with just a little pre-planning effort.

The only problem we've had with Uber involved one attempted ride from Agora Mall to our Hotel.  The driver had absolutely ZERO comprehension of English, and we had minimal comprehension of Spanish.  Most importantly, the Driver appeared to have minimal knowledge of Agora Mall and its pick-up areas.  (And to be honest, we were pretty clueless ourselves.)

I'll spare you the blow-by-blow, but essentially the driver couldn't find us, and we waited for 30 minutes total before ultimately cancelling the ride and grabbing a taxi, instead.   The driver was irate, but we couldn't wait any longer, and of course paid the cancellation fee. 

All our other rides went off perfectly. 

Now, there are times Uber may not be perfect.  Certainly, travel between cities comes to mind.  But car rentals can fill that gap nicely and not too expensively.   Living in a rural area, I don't think Uber would be convenient and prompt enough for daily living and work. 

But if one lives in an urban or suburban area where Uber is readily available, you can avoid the expenses and hassles of vehicle purchase, maintenance, cleaning, parking, tolls, registration, etc.  These days, that is a HUGE savings. 

So, I now apologize to all of you Uber users in the DR...that I previously thought were sorta  borderline nuts.  You aren't nuts after all. In fact, you're pretty darn smart.

Thanks for the advice!!!


ExpatRusher