I'm a big fan of Uber, and I've Uber whenever it has been possible when I travel, as it is easy,…read moreconvenient and cheap way of getting around cities, and I've found the service to be excellent in the likes of Manchester, Paris, Liverpool and Newcastle however Berlin is different. Very different.
Uber isn't very big in Berlin, they only have amount of cars which is shocking and a big let down for such a major city, the capital of Germany infact.
The only Uber service here is UberX, they don't run UberEATS or anything similar.
UberX drivers tend to be Partner drivers, rather than working directly for Uber and these include UberTAXI and UberTAXIVAN, the latter two use the local Berlin tax service, meaning the fare is metered by the driver and not Uber, and they put in the fee it costs, meaning it isn't very trustworthy as I found out. It is worth noting there is an added fee of 1.50 for all of these journeys as a card fee which isn't stated in the app.
I have used Uber 3 times now in Berlin, for the first two times I found the drivers to be friendly enough, albeit the second time their was a slight issue with my fare, having not been aware of the 1.50 charge extra, meaning not only was the car more expensive than a regular Uber, it was made worse by this fare too.
It is often hard to request an UberX around Berlin which is disappointing and the service offered is mainly the UberTAXI service.
My most recent trip with Uber was probably one of the worst trips I have had, alongside an experience in both Manchester and Paris, as I was unable to request an UberX, i had to request an UberTAXI, The driver was very rude and didn't speak english, he wasn't very helpful and even refused to move his bags out of the way, or even come to me as I had to find him and walk to him before getting into the car, I was made to feel uncomfortable as he said "no english" basically forcing an awkward silence. As I got out of the car the meter price was 5.90 euros which would have came to 7.50 euros after the fee, however for some reason I was charged 9.40 euros. I don't like accusing people of this, but I feel the driver was slightly prejudiced and racist towards me, as he rolled his eyes as I began to speak in English as he angrily said "no english" and then went on to overcharge me, this made me even angrier considering I was only forced to use Uber considering an issue at Stadtmitte Underground Station where the lift had broken down, meaning I had to travel from here to Stadtmitte to come back and get my taxi after a wasted journey to the station, albeit this, of course, isn't a problem with Uber and is one with the metro service in Berlin.
Mainly down to the incident on my third journey and the poor system of Uber in Berlin with only a small amount of cars, and the Taxi service just being a rip off which Uber are allowing, it makes me sad with the Uber brand I have tried and loved in so many areas, sadly warranting a single one star rating.
UPDATE: After another incident with Uber, where after waiting for 5-6 minutes, my driver started the journey without me, despite being nowhere to be seen and travelling a small distance, hence charging me 7 euros, I was disgusted with this. The money has since been refunded by Uber, yet obviously, my time in the cold waiting for a taxi can't be refunded, so the overall service from Uber in Berlin really is awful, I'm sorry to report.
