Uber

Über — for once that’s a company that keeps their promise.
After my bad TCA experience I got the chance to try Über sooner than I thought.
When I realized I needed a taxi I quickly downloaded the Über app and made an account within 1 minute. Then I went outside to order a taxi. The estimated waiting time was 7 minutes, after 1 minute my driver already called me to coordinate the pickup point. When he drove me home he asked me if I’d had fun at the event and if I wanted some water. Yes and yes!
And in the end it was so strange to leave the taxi without paying in cash, knowing that they’d deduct it from my credit card. And I even got a confirmation e-​mail with the exact route, driving time and price. I still think think I’m dreaming!

Joni Mitchell sang «don’t it always seem to know that you don’t know what you got till it’s gone» Well with Über I know what I’ve got and the Shallow Man is as happy as a Dutch lady with a packet of cigarettes sitting on a terrace on a sunny day.
Über is fan bloody tastic. Before Über taking taxis in Amsterdam was always exciting. Will the driver try and charge a fixed fee of twenty euros for travelling less than three km? Will he take the scenic route and drive all over the city? Or my favorite will the meter be fixed and charge 20 to 40 cents a minute? Such were the joys of taxi travel before über.
Using über, you have cars that are clean, drivers who actually get off their bottoms and open the car door for you and your travelling companion. They don’t have the radio turned up so loud that your ears start bleeding, nor do they hold long conversations shouting into their smartphones while cursing at anyone who comes anywhere near their cars.
The Über drivers are polite, efficient and friendly and the price of Über black is lower than most competing taxi services. If I can help it I never use any other taxi service, they’re that good.

Download this app now. Yes taxis are expensive but sometimes you just need to take one. Rain. Flat tire. Rain.
And now that über rates are lower than Amsterdam taxis why would you choose otherwise? Did you know that not all taxis are authorized to pick up passengers who try to wave them down? Just grab the app, pinpoint your location and one should be there in under 10 minutes. GPS allows you track your über car in route. TCA also has an app but here are the differences:
1. No cash exchange. The app automatically handles payment.
2. Much more consistent level of service.
3. For business users like me, receipts delivered to your email.
Prices to the airport are the same ad with regular taxis. I’ve compared!
I use it quite a bit in NYC too and it’s available in most cities so it’s just a good app to have loaded on your phone. Lots of discount codes out there so first time users use that! Happy to share mine too. Just send me a note/​compliment.

If you own a car, sell it. If you rent a car, why are you sitting in the driver’s seat? If you take cabs, why are you putting up with crappy Amsterdam cab driver attitude?
Amsterdam has Über!
When Apple says ‘there’s an app for that’, they really don’t mess around. You actually have an app that lets you press a button to have a wonderfully decked out executive limo come pick you up wherever you are and then drive you to anywhere you want, no questions asked, except perhaps if you’d like a bottle of water and some candy.
The cars are mostly new Mercedes S-​class sedans, although I have traveled in a BMW 7-​series at times. There is also a cheaper version that competes with regular cabs price wise, but has E-​class vehicles instead. Not that it matters, because those cars are also very new and well maintained.
The drivers are generally very nice and professional. No more making sure that you aren’t going around in circles just to maximize the meter reading for the taxi driver.
And the best part? You don’t have to dig in your wallet for cash or card. It’s all handled automatically, and you can even review your ride afterwards! I have even received personal calls from the Amsterdam community manager about my reviews.
From time to time, Über branches out and does something special, like ice cream delivery, or boats, or a brand new Bentley with Afrojack to pick you up for a night of clubbing. Live life king size!
I love Über, and you will, too! Car rides will never be the same again. Giving up your omafiets for a limousine never felt so good.

Pretty easy to use. You just download the app on your smartphone, sign up (is really quick but you have to give your credit card info… not cash is accepted by the driver).
When you need a cab, just open the app, it finds your location and you hit a button to ask for a car. That’s pretty much it. You immediately get a picture of your driver, his/​her phone number, the model of car they are driving, and the license plate number. When I used it, the driver called me right before he arrived to confirm the pickup place and had me walk ½ block away to where taxi’s are allowed to drive.
The car was really nice! very comfortable and there was free (or at least I think it was… I did not take one) bottled water. You pay the driver nothing and you are emailed your receipt and ride info when the ride is over… even the tip is included in this.
This is not a cheap service at all, I payed about € 24 to get from Amsterdam Sloterdijk Station to Rembrandtplein but at the same time, normal cabs in Amsterdam are extremely expensive as well. I would say that if you are going to get a cab anyway, use this service, me personally, I would opt for bike or public transport just because that is more my style.