DC Cab (not the movie, but the taxi)?
April 6, 2014 5:26 PM Subscribe
A relative of mine needs to get from the Southwest area of Washington DC, to Union Station, around 3am tonight/Monday am. I haven't been here very long, and I've only caught cabs in cab ranks from the airport or flagged one down, never called one for a late-night pickup, so I don't know what's best. Looking at Yelp for taxicabs, they're full of zero-to-one star reviews and horror stories.
So please help! How can I best and most reliably get someone from southwest DC to Union Station in the wee hours?
Best answer: Yep, Uber. There are four options (black car, taxi, UberX, and SUV) so between all of those, you shouldn't have trouble getting a ride. Try a bit early if you're nervous, just to be on the safe side.
posted by lunasol at 5:56 PM on April 6, 2014
posted by lunasol at 5:56 PM on April 6, 2014
Best answer: Uber black car. The UberX folks are sometimes a bit flakey or not familiar with residential areas or best routes.
Set up your account tonight including payment info. You can open up the app to see how many Ubers are currently in your area to get an idea of when to order one in the morning. I'd say order one about 30 minutes ahead but that will probably get you to the station too early.
If you're resistant to Uber (don't be!) then look up car service or airport cars in your area, such as Affordable Sedan Service.
posted by barnone at 6:08 PM on April 6, 2014 [3 favorites]
Set up your account tonight including payment info. You can open up the app to see how many Ubers are currently in your area to get an idea of when to order one in the morning. I'd say order one about 30 minutes ahead but that will probably get you to the station too early.
If you're resistant to Uber (don't be!) then look up car service or airport cars in your area, such as Affordable Sedan Service.
posted by barnone at 6:08 PM on April 6, 2014 [3 favorites]
Best answer: DC taxis are pretty terrible, but if your friend is taking one earlier in the evening it's worth asking the driver if they're planning on being on later that night and asking for a card with a cellphone number if so. Sometimes that will work out, sometimes it won't. But if it does, it'll save them a few bucks over Uber.
posted by Kadin2048 at 6:09 PM on April 6, 2014
posted by Kadin2048 at 6:09 PM on April 6, 2014
Best answer: An alternate to Uber is Hailo which uses actual DC cabs and just calls them with the app. I have had better luck getting cabs with Uber but Hailo offers tons of discount codes. Either way, if she hasn't used either one before, she can probably find a discount code somewhere to save money.
posted by kat518 at 6:16 PM on April 6, 2014
posted by kat518 at 6:16 PM on April 6, 2014
Best answer: Enthing Uber :)
But if you can't do that....a cab is a cab. People only tend to comment about cabs when it's a horror story anyway.
posted by christiehawk at 6:27 PM on April 6, 2014
But if you can't do that....a cab is a cab. People only tend to comment about cabs when it's a horror story anyway.
posted by christiehawk at 6:27 PM on April 6, 2014
Best answer: Just checked Uber for my city - not DC - and they quote a price twice the regular cab fare...
posted by travelwithcats at 6:39 PM on April 6, 2014
posted by travelwithcats at 6:39 PM on April 6, 2014
Best answer: Yes, Uber is more. In exchange you get some visibility about where your car is when it's inbound and you don't tip or even handle payment with the driver - it's simply charged to your on record payment method.
Personally I find the cab experience in DC so wretched (and am offended by the attitude of the cab lobby and individual cab drivers about credit card acceptance) that I'm willing to pay the premium.
If you are not you can hail a cab with the Taxi Magic app.
posted by phearlez at 6:47 PM on April 6, 2014
Personally I find the cab experience in DC so wretched (and am offended by the attitude of the cab lobby and individual cab drivers about credit card acceptance) that I'm willing to pay the premium.
If you are not you can hail a cab with the Taxi Magic app.
posted by phearlez at 6:47 PM on April 6, 2014
Best answer: +1ing christiehawk. People rarely leave Yelp reviews to say "The driver got me to my destination efficiently and accepted my credit card for payment."
You can schedule a ride on many taxis' websites, e.g. http://dctaxionline.com/ > "hail a cab"
posted by batter_my_heart at 6:49 PM on April 6, 2014
You can schedule a ride on many taxis' websites, e.g. http://dctaxionline.com/ > "hail a cab"
posted by batter_my_heart at 6:49 PM on April 6, 2014
Best answer: Found a handy cab fare calculator for DC
posted by travelwithcats at 6:57 PM on April 6, 2014
posted by travelwithcats at 6:57 PM on April 6, 2014
Best answer: Uber X fares are competitive with DC cab fares, but I don't know if they're as available as the regular Uber service in your area or at that time of night. I've done okay with advance scheduled pickups through DC Yellow Cab's website.
posted by EvaDestruction at 9:23 PM on April 6, 2014
posted by EvaDestruction at 9:23 PM on April 6, 2014
Best answer: There are not words to describe how much I love Uber.
Because DC cabs are....unpleasant....
posted by Thistledown at 5:59 AM on April 7, 2014
Because DC cabs are....unpleasant....
posted by Thistledown at 5:59 AM on April 7, 2014
Response by poster: Thank you all! He got to his train safely, and as a bonus, now I've learned something new and have the Uber and Taxi Magic apps on my phone. Win-win!
posted by theatro at 6:22 AM on April 7, 2014
posted by theatro at 6:22 AM on April 7, 2014
Best answer: I love Uber so much that I'm chiming in after the fact. They always come, any hour of the day. I once had to wait 10 whole minutes at 4 am, but I usually tell folks to have their shoes on before they call. Uber!
posted by MrMoonPie at 6:50 AM on April 7, 2014
posted by MrMoonPie at 6:50 AM on April 7, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by fireandthud at 5:52 PM on April 6, 2014 [1 favorite]