Uber - Request a ride

Category

Description of App

Uber is a ridesharing app for fast, reliable rides in minutes – day or night. There’s no need to park or wait for a taxi or bus. With Uber, you just tap to request a ride, and it’s easy to pay with credit card or cash (in selected cities only).

Whether you’re going to the airport or across town, there’s an Uber for every occasion. Uber is available in more than 500 cities worldwide – download the app and take your first trip today.

Requesting your Uber is easy – here’s how it works:

- Just open the app and tell us where you want to go.

- The app uses your location so your driver knows where to pick you up.

- You’ll see your driver’s picture and vehicle details, and can track their arrival on the map.

- Payment can be made by credit card, cash (in selected cities only), Apple Pay, PayPal and more.

- After the ride, you can rate your driver and provide feedback to help us improve the Uber experience. You’ll also get a receipt by email.

Need a simple way to get from A to B quickly? Take uberX, our most affordable option for individual travel.

Want to save money on your ride? Take uberPOOL – you’ll travel with other riders heading in the same direction, and enjoy a lower fare.

Want a more exclusive experience? Take a high-end vehicle with UberBLACK. And there are even more options – whether you’re travelling with a big grou or need a vehicle with accessibility features.

See if Uber is available in your city at https://www.uber.com/cities

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/uber

Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/uber

Got a question? Visit uber.com/help.

Note: continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

Version

3.371.10002

Free or Paid

Free

Apple Watch Support

Yes

Device(s) App Was Tested On

iPhone

iOS Version

13.1.2

Accessibility Comments

On the Ride Options screen, VoiceOver does not speak the ETA or pick-up location for the selected vehicle type. Other users (see comments #69-74 below) have also reported difficulties changing the pick-up location or destination once the ride is booked, though I have not attempted to do this in recent versions of the app so cannot personally comment. Lastly, not all of the buttons in the app are labeled properly.

VoiceOver Performance

VoiceOver reads most page elements.

Button Labeling

Most buttons are clearly labeled.

Usability

There are some accessibility issues with this app, but it can still be used if you are willing to tolerate these issues and learn how to work around them.

Developer's Twitter Username

@Uber_Support

Recommendations

8 people have recommended this app

Most recently recommended by Brandt 4 months 2 weeks ago

Options

Comments

By KE7ZUM on Saturday, September 21, 2013 - 20:54

Hmm. This app sounds interesting. I just saw this on the site so dunno how long it's been there. I have to note that it will show an error adding yoru card and there are 3 unlabeled buttons at the top. I don't know what they are but I'm just letting those of you know. Also I don't know how to choose a provider. In my case it says black car. I'm a bit confused as I know we have several providers here and none of them called black car. Over all the sign up process was very successful and easy to use.

By KE7ZUM on Saturday, September 21, 2013 - 20:54

Well, after further looking on the website not all the cities are listed in the us. and not all cab providers jut this black car thing whos prices are outrages. lol! I did contact them to see when my particular cab providers in the city where I live will be listed. One of the reviews on the app store stys this. They WILL charge your credit card $100+. Without even knowing ahead of time. This is an outright, literal, scam. Has anyone else had this over charging of $100 wiht out telling you? if so I'm cancaling my account before I use it. Anothe rreview states this. these people have me so outraged that I must let people know that I have has the worst experience ever with Uber . They take your cc and charge you with out telling you and they are so hard to get in contact with. DON'T USE THIS !! I did get hold of them as well and their support site is less then half way accessible. I would not recomend this app if you want to strugle with support sites and lack of cabs in your large and or small city.

By Seanoevil on Saturday, September 21, 2013 - 20:54

I have used Uber in Sydney and highly rate their product and service. Uber is a great addition to the Public Transport infrastructure of Sydney, and now, I believe Melbourne. In my experience, They operate by contracting a fleet of high quality Limousines to act on their behalf. Prices are a little above what you would pay for a standard Taxi, but the service goes well and truely above that of a standard Cab. For Example, a Taxi from SYD airport to the Sheraton was AUD55. From the same Hotel to the Airport was AUD65 with Uber. For the extra money i had a beautiful, new, clean Limo and once at the Terminal the Driver left His car and assisted me all the way to the Check in counter. When I first used their service I was told by Uber Support that their Ap was not setup for VO so I cannot speak for the efficacy of the AP. They do, however, have a Mobile Webpage which works extremely well on Safari (Iphone5). I have had no troubles with invoicing or getting in contact with their Sydney Office. In my experience they respond quickly to both email and Twitter. If Uber operates in your area, I encourage You to get on board!

By cjsims on Saturday, June 21, 2014 - 20:54

Recently, I started using Uber since where I live, I have ongoing issues with Taxies driving off having picked up another passenger. This does not happen with uber as the drivers have phone contact with you.

In relation to charges that appear on your credit card when you first sign up for the service, they will now put a $1 charge on your card. This is a standard practice to ensure that the card is valid. Note: this charge will not finalize and will drop off your account with in 5 days.

Another commenter was asking about the whole car selection thing. Please be aware of the following.
If you select Black, you are selecting one of your local hire car drivers. If you select UberX you are selecting the ridesharing side of the organisation. Hope that this helps someone .

By KE7ZUM on Saturday, June 21, 2014 - 20:54

Thanks for that. Uber is not in my area. due to safety regs tha thave not been updated since 2009 or so. I hope to try this when I'm in an area where there is uber.

By changedheart421 on Thursday, August 21, 2014 - 20:54

I use this at least once a week. It is handy and I have never had a problem. The drivers are really friendly and only once have I had a problem with my service dog. Note for Guide Dog users, do not tell them you have one before they arrive. It is asking for trouble.

By Deb on Sunday, September 21, 2014 - 20:54

Uber just started in Wichita, KS on Labor Day weekend. It is so convenient to just request a ride, be able to see the ETA while they are coming to your pick up location and receive a message when they are arriving. Also you get the driver's name, type of vehicle, and even a tag number. When you arive, you get a message with detailed info about your trip and the charge. Very impressive, I thought.

By KE7ZUM on Sunday, September 21, 2014 - 20:54

It look impressive but with what's going on and the suits they are currently facing regarding the blind and disabled in general I'll wait or wait until lift comes to my area which it looks like it will not due to outdated safety regs that Nevada refuses to update. I am impressed with the app though over all in its accessibility. I just cannot use it in its entirety.

By Mike Freeman on Sunday, September 21, 2014 - 20:54

All of these ride-share services -- Uber, Lift, sidecar -- maintain that they are ride-share contracting services that work via social networking and are not traditional transportation services such as cab companies. Many cities and at least one lawsuit contend that this is utter nonsense and that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it *is* a duck, i.e., these services should not be allowed to duck safety, insurance and Americans with disabilities Act requirements (e.g., carrying passengers with service animals). I use and like the service in my city, Vancouver, Washington USA, but if you use a service animal, proceed with caution. I bet the suits go all the way to the U.s. supreme Court!

By Brent on Friday, November 21, 2014 - 20:54

This service finally came to Green Bay not long ago. The drivers have all been very friendly so far, and the app is easy to use with VO. The only thing that might throw a 6 user for a loop is that yes, Apple Pay is indeed supported, but in the screen where you set your payment method, it will be the blank thing you flick to. You can then delete any other cards you have stored with Uber, so they only charge you when you request and take rides, if you are able to use Apple Pay.

By Brad S. on Friday, November 21, 2014 - 20:54

Uber is great!! I have been using the service several times a week in the Dallas, TX area for over a year and have been very impressed with their product and service. I have found the app to be very V.O. accessible on both my old iPhone 4s and my newer 5s as well. The latest update to the app has some items missed labeled but once I figured it out it was easy to work around the issue. The drivers have always been friendly, helpful and understanding of my vision issues. I do not have a service animal so I can't comment on that. Uber is a great alternative to the poor service provided by the local taxi companies that I had no choice but to put up with in the past. I highly recommend giving them a try.

By riyu12345 (not verified) on Friday, November 21, 2014 - 20:54

I've signed up to uber a couple of days ago.
I'm going to try it today.
It's a little fiddley with VO but it's deffenetly usable.

By KE7ZUM on Friday, November 21, 2014 - 20:54

I re-signed up with them only to have the service pulled from my state, and I mean pulled. Uber will be shut down in the near future. so I'm saddned I got a free ride I will never get the chance to use.

Take care to all. I'll be watching this thread though in case they decide to put uber back in our state.

By Usman on Friday, November 21, 2014 - 20:54

I used the service a couple of times in Seattle and love it. Can't recommend it enough.

By KE7ZUM on Friday, November 21, 2014 - 20:54

In term of the labels being a bit messed up, how can you tell if and when you are entering let's say your pick up in the right place and your drop off in the right place? I would not want them switched. I have to enter my pick up place manually as it's always 1 house off lol! I'm asking in case the judges decide to reinstate uber here

Blessings

By Ryan on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 20:54

I used Uber to go to and from a restaurant yesterday. Unfortunately, I kept putting my pickup location where the destination is supposed to be. Since these boxes aren't properly labeled, how do I know where to put the destination and the pickup locations?

By Samuel J on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 20:54

I just updated to the latest version of this app. The main screen of the app does not seem to be accessible anymore. The only thing that Voiceover recognizes are the different buttons at the bottom of the screen for the different types of Uber. However, the rest of the screen is entirely inaccessible. As in, Voiceover does not recognize any other element on the screen, which it used to until the previous version of this app. If anyone has updated, can they confirm if this is the case? Because if it is, then this app can no longer be used for requesting an Uber with Voiceover, as of this update.
I would also encourage anyone who has updated and is experiencing this issue, to report it to Uber so that we can try and get it fixed quickly.

By Darrell Hilliker on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 20:54

I just banged out a quick email to support@uber.com regarding this loss of VoiceOver accessibility. I would urge all of us to do likewise. It amounts to a critical transportation option being taken away from us because we are blind.

By Samuel J on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 20:54

Agree with Darrell above. I wrote to them too. Hope others will do the same.

By mark reumann on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 20:54

Hey all,
I did write to them as well. I was able to navigate to the other elements of the main screen by dragging, but this is definitely not as efficient as being able to flick between elements using VoiceOver.
Once past the main screen, the trip screen seems to be fully accessible still.
For reference, the set pick-up location is very near the center of the screen, account is in the upper left corner, and messages is in the upperright. I was testing on the 5s, but haven't looked at the app on my 6.

By Samuel J on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 20:54

Hey Mark, I don't understand what you mean when you said that you can get to the other elements by dragging. Can you please clarify? Because I have tried that way too, in addition to the right or left flick gestures. What I am getting are the Voiceover clicks (that mean that there is no item under your finger) when I drag my finger on the screen. The only elements that Voiceover recognizes even with that technique, are the buttons at the bottom for the different types of Uber.
I am trying on a 5S too.

By Seanoevil on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 20:54

Travelling can be stressful enough without the worry that your Car Service may become completely inaccessible due to an App update!
I too have emailed Uber and advised them of the problem.

@SeaNoEvil

By mark reumann on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 20:54

In reply to by Samuel J

Hi there,

Mine does indeed click, as is if there is no item under my finger, but if I slide my finger up the left side of the screen, it reads the account menu option, just below the status bar. Same for messages, and if I slide down at an angle, I encounter the set pick-up location button in the middle of the screen.
This is on both the 5s, and my 6.

By sockhopsinger on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 20:54

I am able to slide my finger along the screen to find what I need. However, flicking does not seem to work.

By John W. hess on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 20:54

Good morning. I have already set up a credit card but would like to use apple pay. IN the payment screen I see the edit box to type in the card number, a scan card button and an unlabeled button that seems to take me to paypal so I can pay with it. I don't see anything for apple pay. Where can I find this? Thanks.

By Samuel J on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 20:54

At the two comments above...that is really interesting. Because, I have tried doing the same thing, and I don't get anything. Absolutely no other elements other than the buttons at the bottom are recognized by Voiceover. I have tried dragging my finger along the left and right sides of the screen top to bottom and bottom to top, across the screen from left to right...pretty much any direction above those buttons at the bottom. No element is recognized other than the Uber type buttons.

By Seanoevil on Saturday, February 21, 2015 - 20:54

Hi,
I have had a reply from Uber Support who have advised me that:
Yes, the Swipe gesture is broken, but that the App still works with Touch. I have asked, but they have not clarified what they mean by Touch - I assume that it is simply the process of dragging a finger over the screen.
They also told me that the issue has been reported to the San Francisco App Team, so it will be an interesting test to see what emphasis they place on fixing this problem.
As a product of the digital age, I suggest that anyone impacted by this App contact not just the main Uber account but the Uber Offices in your City or Region. They are quite active on Social Media, so don't be shy about politely pointing out the problems you are having on their chosen forum.

@SeaNoEvil

By Samuel J on Saturday, February 21, 2015 - 20:54

The weird thing is, I can't even use it with the touch technique like others are mentioning here. I slide my finger on the screen, but Voiceover recognizes nothing apart from the buttons at the bottom of the screen. So, I haven't been able to use the app at all ever since this last update was released. I emailed them about it too, but got a generic sort of response; thanks for your feedback and we work hard towards customer satisfaction. Something along those lines.

By Justin on Saturday, February 21, 2015 - 20:54

Hmm, interesting. It announces everything on the screen with the drag solution. The Pickup location, and The other buttons like usual. Interesting that you can't drag.

By Samuel J on Saturday, February 21, 2015 - 20:54

Anyone had any better luck with the new version of this app that was released earlier this week? As far as I am concerned, I'm really disappointed to report that the update still doesn't fix the main screen issues. Not for me anyway. Still can't locate any elements apart from the buttons at the bottom. Neither by the flicking gesture, nor by dragging my finger on the screen. Interested in knowing from those for whom the dragging-the-finger technique works, is there any difference as far as the flicking gestures are concerned? Or are they still broken?

By Seanoevil on Saturday, February 21, 2015 - 20:54

Hi All,
I need to use Uber next week and am wondering whether I should update to the latest version, 2.59.
Any feedback would be appreciated.

Cheers,

@SeaNoEvil

By Mike Freeman on Saturday, February 21, 2015 - 20:54

I'm running an iPhone 5 with 64 gigs and iOS 8.1.3. I confirm that the flick gesture no longer works, even with the latest version of Uber. Incidentally, I don't think many sighted folks understand the reason many of us who are blind like that gesture.

Anyway, I can run my finger around the screen and find the "Set Pickup Location" button without difficulty. where I and some others run into problems is when we try to enter the Destination Location while keeping the Pickup Location as we entered it. the app seems to get these mixed up and the only way I and some others have found to get around this problem is to just enter the pickup location and give the driver our destination.

Definite nuisance.

By Deb on Saturday, February 21, 2015 - 20:54

MH I was having exactly the same result that you speak of...nothing except buttons at bottom when I was running IOS 7.1.2, I then updated my IPhone 5 to IOS 8.1.3, I can now drag around and find the information that others have spoken about. As for the destination location, I wait until I get info about the driver on the way, then you can safely enter the destination without accidently entering that in the pick up. I did get an email today from Uber support saying they felt VO concerns would all be resolved in the newest update, which doesn't sound like true, I have not yet updated to it yet. Let's keep contacting their support team to insure they know the app still needs tweeking. I think this is an important transportation option and have had great service when I have used Uber in Wichita Kansas.

By Usman on Saturday, February 21, 2015 - 20:54

I believe that the accessibility status needs to be changed to better reflect VO compatibility, or the lack there of for Uber. the app is certainly far from easy to use and buttons are not all clearly labelled and its not a great experience using this app from a VO point of view.

By Austin Grace on Saturday, February 21, 2015 - 20:54

Hello to all. The new version still has these issues. I'm actively working with uber until this issue is resolved.

By Scottsdale on Saturday, March 21, 2015 - 20:54

Just bumping this app entry to inform everyone that version 2.64.1 which was pushed out yesterday seems to contain a fix for the main screen. Pickup and destination locations are labeled correctly again, and although the order of things when flicking doesn't mirror the actual GUI, flicking does work.

No idea whether the surge pricing screen has also been fixed at this point, so if you find out before me, please post and let people know what the deal is with that.

By sockhopsinger on Saturday, March 21, 2015 - 20:54

Voiceover gets a specific mention in this app update.

New in 2.66:

- Fixed an accessibility bug that prevented some VoiceOver users from interacting with UI elements in the request flow
- Added support for Romanian

By Toonhead on Saturday, March 21, 2015 - 20:54

The interesting thing is that if you swipe there are now 2 uberex buttons, and both are reported by VoiceOver as being selected. Not sure why they have the same element listed twice, but it does work and that's what matters.

By Samuel J on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - 20:54

Just began noticing something really weird ever since the last update. I'm on iOS 8.2, and ever since updating to the latest version of the app, it seems like the name of the app has changed slightly. I noticed it since Voiceover began announcing the name slightly differently than usual. As in, the app icon on the home screen says Oober rather than Uber. Meaning, the name now has two O's at the beginning rather than the letter U!
When the app is launched the buttons at the bottom also say Oober-X and Oober-XL instead of Uber-X and Uber-XL.
But when I look at the app in the App Switcher, or the App Store, the spelling is still Uber (with a U). Other parts of the app also still call it Uber, but the name on the home screen as well as the buttons at the bottom of the app's main screen have the name spelled with two O's.
Just thought this was kinda weird since the name of the app or service has not changed or anything.

By KE7ZUM on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - 20:54

Maybe they want us to pronounce it as oober not uber. I notice more people are pronouncing it thus.

take care.

By Brad S. on Monday, September 21, 2015 - 20:54

Hello All. I am still using Uber almost daily and sometimes several times a day. I have not experienced any VO issues with the app in a long time. All screens and all buttons seem to be quite accessible. Uber seems to be doing a good job at keeping their app VO compliant. I love being able to take my wife out to a show or something and allow her to be free from the responsibility of having to do all the driving. I can't say enough good things about the service.

By Katrine on Monday, September 21, 2015 - 20:54

Hi all,
I had a really annoying situation the other day and wondered if anyone has had the same problem. I was in a very busy street with lots of trafic. I missed my bus and decided to take a Uber instead. I requested a UberX and got an ETA of 5 minutes. I then waited about 8 min until my ETA was 2 minutes. Then it stayed 2 minutes, then 1 minute, then 2 again. This went on for about 10 minutes until I cancelled the ride and was charged 6 Euros.
Afterwards it occurred to me that the driver was probably there expecting me to look for him. But he never contacted me and I didn't think he was there due to the 2 minute ETA.
I wish Uber had a function to let the drivers know to look for a blind person who can't find them.
I know you could just call them, but maybe you don't want every single driver to have your number and also, if you are abroad as I was at the time, calling can be quite expensive and you may not speak the same language.
Has anyone else had any problems like this?

By KE7ZUM on Monday, September 21, 2015 - 20:54

yeah this happened to us when we were going to an event. He said he had taken blind people to this conference all morning, but he just sat there waiting for us to find it. We told him that was not right but he didn't give a crap and just kept insisting he was taking us to this blind thing. I hated that experience.

By sockhopsinger on Monday, September 21, 2015 - 20:54

I went to san Francisco last weekend and went to a concert with some sighted friends of mine. After the show was over, they summoned up an Uber, and the same thing happened as described by the last couple of comments, only in this instance, the driver claimed he was where we were, but he wasn't seen by my friends. Eventually, the driver got mad and declined the trip. Even though the instructions were clear as day as to where we were and where the driver could find us, it made no difference. In short, I think a lot of the issues with Uber finding those who are blind, or anyone else, depend more on the driver. Some of the drivers just don't care, whether you are sighted or not, and that's what it comes down to. Same is true of cab companies.

By Toonhead on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - 20:54

Here's an interesting, but all be it a very frustrating one. I don't know if this is the fault of iOS 9, or if it's an issue with the app, but when someone accepts your request for a ride, the screen that shows the name of your driver, along with the type of car and license plate number, etc. has a trip options button. You can use this to contact the driver, send a text, split a fare with someone else, or cancel trip. In the latest version of the uber app, version 2.97.6, this trip options button no longer works as expected. When you double-tap it, the screen refreshes, and you almost expect that it'll show these options, however the screen refreshes, and lands you back on the ETA of the driver. In other words, you double-tap the options button, but instead of seeing these additional buttons, you land back on the element that says, ETA 5 minutes, for example. It's very frustrating if you need to contact the driver for any reason. I wrote to the uber support guys with a very detailed description of the issue, making sure to explain that the problem only seems to happen with VoiceOver enabled. I even went so far as to explain how to turn VoiceOver on, etc. So hopefully, they'll see it, and send it to the developers, and have it fixed in the next build. Is anyone else experiencing this behavior? If so, please let the Uber support guys know, so they won't think it's a problem with just one person. If it turns out it is, I'm not sure exactly how to fix it. I've closed, and restarted the app and even went so far as to restart my phone, with no success. Hope this can be fixed soon.

By Toonhead on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - 20:54

I wrote to Uber last night about the issue I wrote about here last night, I know with all the excitement of the iPhone 6s and 6s plus my post probably slipped right under everyone's radar. They wrote back to me, and suggested that I delete and re-install the app and try it again. They passed on my message to the developers, so lets hope a fix is on the way soon. It's important that we have access to those trip options.

By KE7ZUM on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - 20:54

Agreed. Also show them this thread as well as that's where most of the feedback are probably collected.

By Steve on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - 20:54

I discovered the same issue today regarding the inability to contact a driver. I found that if I disabled VoiceOver, held my finger on the driver's name, and brought VoiceOver back, that I was eventually able to get the contact driver screen to appear. Frustrating to say the least, especially when the ETA says something like 4 minutes for over half an hour!

By Troy on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - 20:54

What I find interesting is uber puts out updates all the time but their what's new section has the same verbage, so what is really new with each update?

By Toonhead on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - 20:54

Well, it looks like Uber version 2.98.7 just hit the app store. Unfortunately, there is no mention of anything in the update description, just the usual blurb about making localization changes, it's their stock update text. so I have absolutely no clue if the current bug with the trip options button has been fixed. If anyone knows if it has I hope you'll let us know.