Best Tips to book cheap Uber rides

It’s a universal law which states that when the supply of a service increases, its market price crash. Conversely, when the demand for it rises, we witness a rapid surge in the prices. This is true for most of the things, but in here we are talking about how you can book cheap Uber rides, even during the Surge.

How to book cheap Uber rides

A lot depends on your location, timing, and where you want to travel. Uber uses an algorithm to decide the estimate of the ride. However, its interesting that if you experiment a bit, you can still get better price when booking an Uber

1] Walk to a nearby location:

If your current location has huge demand, the prices are likely to be higher. So if you can move to a nearby location which is off the prime area. Chances are that demand could be low in that area, and you get a better price for the same destination.

You can experiment the same thing with your destination as well. If a nearby location around your destination has more customers, Uber will charge you less.

2] Do a quick price comparison with other services

If you have multiple rides or cab services in your city, you should do a quick comparison. You can even try out local services which are less popular but does the same job.

Many third-party apps can do a quick price comparison of Ola, Uber and others prices. This not only lessens the hassle of downloading and using separate apps (Uber and Ola) but compare their prices right from a single. Apps like Haptik, What’s the Fare and so on are popular.

Compare Uber Pricing

Note: The apps are not affiliated with Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, or any taxi providers. As such, Fares provided are just estimates. The actual amount chargeable by these services may be significantly different.

You can also use Google Maps to get a quick comparison. Enter source, and destination and then select the icon which looks like a waving man. It will offer a quick comparison between available services.

3] Get your UberPASS 

If you travel with Uber most of the time, its best to get a monthly pass. Termed as UberPASS, you can avail of discounted fares and waiver on cancellation charges. Besides, he gets exclusive access to some of the company’s features and experience. An UberPASS vehicle charges you no money for cancellation.

4] Book a shared ride with UberPOOL

One thing that escapes our attention while booking an Uber ride is that depending on the proximity of the driver’s location from our location, we can be charged a bit extra. UberPool is a shared ride that can save you money. The service matches you with riders heading in the same direction, so you can share the ride and cost.

Just open the Uber app and enter your destination in the Where to box. Next, tap the UberPOOL ride option at the bottom of your screen and hit the ‘Confirm’ UberPOOL. You can request a POOL for up to 2 people.

Once it’s done, you’ll see the estimated window of time, until the driver arrives at your destination. Although the service offers great price convenience to riders/passengers, drivers find it bothersome and hate it since they have to bear the stress of ferrying multiple passengers to a variety of destinations.

5] Ask the driver to rate you high

After each ride, users are prompted to rate the service and review their experience. This is not a one-sided affair. Even the drivers are obliged to rate their experience with the customers. As such, if a driver shares rave reviews about you, Uber can extend its courtesy by giving you a discount on your future rides.  If you’re curious to check how you’re doing in the backseat, just tap on the hamburger menu. This will reveal yur rating.

6] Register Two Uber Accounts

Many a time when I don’t use Uber for long, I start getting offers. Also, when I book an uber from that long un-used account, I get it for cheap. If you happen to have two phone numbers, set up two Uber accounts and use them as alternates to book cheap Uber rides.

6] Uber promo code

Uber frequently provides coupons to its reliable customers. If you are having a good rider rating as described above then, after 2 or 3 rides you can avail of free coupons to book cheap Uber rides.

Also, UBER generates multiple promotional codes that you can enter into a promotional box on the website to obtain a discount on a trip’s fare.

Discount Coupon

6] Book a ride through Facebook Messenger

Many of us are not aware that we can even book an Uber or Lyft ride via Facebook Messenger. You can verify this by just going to the Messenger app, type Uber and click on the blue plus sign visible in the bottom left corner and choose ‘rides’ option from there.

If you happen to be a first time Uber user, you can get your first ride free (up to $20) when you sign up and create an account.

These best tips based on my personal experience, I am sure you should be able to book cheap Uber rides now and then. Do remember this may not work all the time, but I am sure it will most of the time.

About the author

Hemant Saxena

The author Hemant Saxena is a post-graduate in bio-technology and has an immense interest in following technology developments. Quite by nature, he is an avid Lacrosse player.