Can we use uber for wedding photos or do we need to hire a driver?

December 1, 2014 5:51 PM

For our upcoming March nuptials in Philadelphia the fiancée and I are planning to take photos before the ceremony with just the two of us and the photographer. We have no wedding party and plan to take family photos at the venue. For the 2+ hours we wanted to take photos as a couple at some spots around the city but we're wondering about transportation options - can we use uber to avoid hiring a sedan or other driver? Will an uber driver wait for us as we make multiple stops? Will a 2ish hour commitment be possible for an uber driver And if yes, will it be cost effective?
posted by moshimosh to Travel & Transportation around Philadelphia, PA (11 answers total)

Uber is hiring a sedan, unless you mean hiring in the British/Commonwealth sense of a synonym for "rent".

In my experience a lot of Uber drivers are towncar drivers making extra money on the side, and the Uber app is a mostly just a payment/scheduling/dispatch infrastructure.

One thing that may work is to use Uber before the day you want to do this, and then ask your driver whether they'd be into scheduling a two hour block for this purpose. Arrange a price with them and pay in cash rather than using the Uber app (which is probably going to be the major stumbling block, since I'm not sure it's set up for multi-hour open-jaw fares).
posted by Sara C. at 5:56 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Can you rent a car or do a zipcar and have a friend drive?
posted by k8t at 6:13 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I would go directly to a black car service rather than through Uber. It won't be any cheaper, but limo services are used to hiring their cars out by the hour.
posted by Nelson at 6:28 PM on December 1, 2014

Best answer: Cost aside, this does not seem like a good idea. I can think of many reasons why an Uber driver would not be interested in this arrangement, and you won't be able to find out whether they are or not until they arrive after you hail them via app on the day of your wedding. Very stressful. Have you asked your photographer whether they can help you arrange a car ahead of time?
posted by animalrainbow at 6:28 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

I would go ahead an use Uber. You don't have to use the same driver. Just keep calling different ones. They show up in about 5 minutes. If you find one driver you like, you can try to negotiate a cash deal for the two hours or so that you want. Depending on the driver they may or may not accept. I don't think they're supposed to do that, but I've seen friends do it (we shared an Uber, I got out at my house, friend negotiated cash for the rest of the ride home). Uber has a sitting and not driving rate too, right? So they may be cool to just wait for you.

Anyway, renting a limo is a good idea too. A couple hours in a limo will be epsilon compared to the cost of your wedding day. And you won't have to worry about it.
posted by jeffamaphone at 6:58 PM on December 1, 2014

Agreeing that hiring a service/zipcar is a better bet here, maybe with a friend driving? Allows for more flexibility. You might also want to read this related AskMe from earlier today; you might not.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 7:32 PM on December 1, 2014

Zipcar. Renting multiple Ubers will likely be the worst option since they have a minimum per ride. Zipcar will cost you all of $20 for two hours.
posted by kcm at 7:54 PM on December 1, 2014

I cannot advise you as to the cost-effectiveness, but be aware that Uber is having some serious legal trouble in Philadelphia right now. Depending on who you talk to it is illegal, and it is in a feud with the Philadelphia Parking Authority to the point where the PPA has been setting up stings on its drivers. UberX, the fancy option, may be available, it's been around for longer and as far as I know hasn't been targeted. But it's also more expensive than just taking taxis, and at that point you may as well rent a car or two for the day.
posted by Anonymous at 11:21 PM on December 1, 2014

UberX, the fancy option, may be available,

UberX is the non-fancy option with legal issues. Uber Black is the original fancy option.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 1:52 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Yes. To be clear, my advice is to use Uber (the original), not UberX.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:54 AM on December 2, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks everyone. We live in the area so we're aware of the UberX issues - I was thinking of UberBlack. Also we have a car, we just don't want to have to drive, find parking and deal with the hassle. Our preference is to do photos alone, so we don't want to ask a friend or family member to drive us, though that would be the most cost effective. We'll probably consider doing a sedan/town car rental for a few hours just to take the guesswork out of it and avoid waiting around for multiple uber vehicles, as well as the minimum ride cost.
posted by moshimosh at 2:48 PM on December 3, 2014