Uber

Unreliable. Very convenient when an über is available AND accepts a ride. Inconvenient when there’s no ride or the driver doesn’t accept. To be fair it’s as bad as getting a taxi on time in Santa Maria, but at least they give you a time they’ll be available.

Visiting Cambria. Tried ordering Über Wine 10 times. No response. Guess it doesn’t really work 9 – 6. Thought we could order at noon. Never gonna try again.

I ordered a Lux car, and thought well, it will be a nice roomy comfortable car right, wrong, it was a Lexus 350, not comfortable, luxury, well depends on what you think is a luxury car. That wasn’t the worst part, I had to travel from Lax to Santa Barbara, it’s a 2 hour drive and just over 100 miles, $ 650.00, and I didn’t know what I would be charged until the driver had left and it showed up on my iPhone. I emailed a complaint to Über and after a few back and forth emails, they refunded $ 125.00, so they obviously agree that I was over charged, we just haven’t agreed on the amount. For 2 hours drive it was $ 325.00 an hour, that seems a little excessive. I would definitely have turned down the ride had I known in advance the cost. Normally I used local car services and the price is around $ 300.00. Anyway, this was my first experience and also my last with Über. I think in time they will fade away as a fad, and we will be back to the old days, goodbye Über.

Fuck über bunch of assholes running the company to coward to respond to a bad experience

Über in Santa Barbar is just the worst. I have so many bad stories that are not even worrh my time telling them here.
If I could give them zero stars, I would.

Just talked to my 20 year old college student. She came home for the weekend and needed a ride home to school from the train station .the Über driver tried to charge her 6 times the Normal price. She was crying and upset fortunately a good friend is picking her up. If I could give that driver a piece of my mind I’d say what it if was your daughter trying to get home at 11:30 at night. Never using them anytime or anywhere!

Horrible company. Steals from drivers and charges surges to rider but not given to driver.

I have only had one Über ride in Santa Barbara, but that one ride was great. I took it to the train station around 6 am. Thomas was my driver and he was great! I requested it much earlier than I had to be there because I was worried something would go wrong. But everything went smoothly and I arrived early.

I love Über Santa Barbara. If I lived here I would not own a car. I have had two rides they were prompt, punctual, comfortable, convenient, and very pleasant. They each arrived in less than 10 minutes and the drivers were polite and professional. One even opened my door for me.
The only issue I have had is with the rating system! The app would not allow me to rate the second driver five stars. I tried three times and each time it rated him a one or a three or a four!

The quality of the service has very much gone down in a few weeks/​months. I understand that Über cut it’s prices in order to run Lyft out of business… on the back of the drivers. As a result of this drop in price, the drivers have become rude (cancellations happen often) and the only thing they can talk about is how underpaid they are («I used to make $ 4,000 a month, now I only make $ 2,000»). There is no assurance that the cars are properly maintained, that the drivers have undergone a background check… Most of them do not even put
an Über sign on the car windows (nor a Lyft sign: very often
they work for both and some of them are taxis on top of that). If there is no dramatic change very soon, I will cancel my subscription… Buy a car and learn how to
drive.

Just requested an über at the wharf, a «Raphael» was designated to give me and my wife a ride home from dinner. This driver told us to walk from Brophy bros to the end of the wharf to finally tell us that he cancelled the ride, leaving us hanging. Decided to go through lyft

Daughter’s been taking Über to the train station but will not be doing so from now on. Same story — never showed up, probably couldn’t figure out how to get through the construction, didn’t contact her, charged her $ 4 and she missed her train. Ad says «reliable pickups» … NOT!

It’s been hit and miss with Über. You can have a great driver and then suddenly, like today, Shay had to cancel because he didn’t know where the heck he was going. I called him to tell him exactly what to do — go to Anapamu, turn South, then turn right on this street and you;ll find me on the north side of the street. He couldn’t figure it out. I was running late, and next thing I can see, the app shows me that he’s on State Street running south and now 2 blocks away. I told him straight up, I need a driver who KNOWS WHERE HE’S GOING. They should require drivers to know the area where they work. It’s definitely soured my opinion of Über. Luckily, another driver came to pick me up, and he was great. He gave me 5 stars saying how awesome he thought I was. But if you have Shay, watch out! I complained on Über.

I travel a lot for business. I used to use Über black for daytime almost a year ago but I got tired try to take Über in the morning to go Sba. They never work in the morning. I started to to call again a regular taxi company but almost the end of this year I found on Unilocal a amazing transportation company in Santa Barbara. So for sure I don’t use Über with no experiences drivers, no ²⁴⁄₇ services or Taxi company just this a amazing company I use now and I am very happy because I know I will get there on time and safe with nice cars.

1.) My über driver was late because he got LOST, causing me to miss my train. He said he’s from SLO so he doesn’t know the area that well. I feel like they should have drivers that actually know the area but that’s just me.
2.) There were limited über drivers in the area. Whenever that happens, I have to agree to have my fare doubled, meaning I had to pay $ 21 to go to a train station that’s only ten minutes away.
3.) The driver felt really bad that I missed my train and waited with me for 2 hours until my next one. We went to Mcdonald’s and he bought me a burger from the dollar menu and we had really awkward surface level conversations. He let me charge my phone which was pretty nice I guess.
This was a really weird experience. I think I’m going to take the bus next time.

You just get out. That’s it. Once you go Über, you’ll never go back.
I’ve been a loyal Uberite, Uberist, Uberer (not sure what to call it) for a few years now in San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver B.C., Dallas, NYC (recently launched) and now at home. Since Über came to Santa Barbara I’ve not touched a taxi. Why? Because it’s cheap and easy. Let me break it down for you.
1. Create an account at
or through the smart phone app entering one or more credit cards (personal and business)
2. When you need a ride downtown, to the airport or wherever, choose Über C or Black (more on that is a minute) from the snazzy app and a driver is on their way.
3. Enjoy a ride in a clean car with a friendly driver and often with a free bottle of water and sometimes snacks.
4. When the ride’s over, just get out.
Yep, it’s that easy. Just get out of the car (say thank you) and you’re credit card is billed, tip included. No cash, no hassle, no nothing. Just get out (get the point).
We all need a ride sometimes. Maybe it’s to the airport ($ 45 taxi on average from the Mesa, $ 30 Über with tip) or home from a late night downtown ($ 20 to the Mesa, $ 8 Über with tip). Let’s be honest, you should be driving after some nights out and Über has you covered. Here’s what you get.
Über X: a more fuel efficient, clean and modern car with a friendly driver*
Black: a «Town Car» like vehicle with more space, free water and a friendly driver*
I take Über X to save a small % of the total over Black but if you have 4 people, best try Black until you get used to it. The X are usually smaller cars.
Now about my experiences.
Overall, each city is the same with subtle differences (NYC Black is not as nice or clean as SFO Black) with clean cars and friendly* drivers. For Santa Barbara, i’ve had almost a 100% excellent experience. I «call» a car through the app and they show up. Out of dozens of trips I’ve only had 3 mediocre rides with one having a ride along in the front seat (not allowed by Über), another who’s «new car smell» was that of an old lady hooker and another where the app was not working well and he was parked up the street from me. After each ride I provided feedback through the app and the community supervisor contacted me via e-​mail and provided a small break on the fare to compensate. Sweet!
This review is here to educate and hopefully motivate you to Über. I’m willing to bet once you try them, you’ll not take a taxi again. That is, as long as an Über driver is available and that’s where the ⁴⁄₅. Santa Barbara is a small but growing Über community and you may not find a ride available during busy times or especially early in the AM when trying to head to the airport. It’s a live system and you can’t book ahead. As the driver base grows, this will change. Overall, I’ve not had a problem except for early departures from SBA.
* I say friendly driver because Über monitors passenger’s reviews from the app (you rate every trip) and will provide feedback in both directions. They want to succeed and will even offer discounts should have a less than stellar ride.
That said, the driver rates you too. Loud, drunk, a dick? The drivers know and may not choose to pick you up.
I apologize for the long winded review but it goes to the point that Über is IT.
Not that I’m offering a money back guarantee but it’s that good. Trust me, download the app, setup the account and you will be hooked. Thank me later.