Its been a while since international ride-sharing company Uber started its ‘Uber-X’ service with a fleet of AC sedans, in Bangalore. I have taken quiet a few rides in Uber-X in the last few months and based on my experience so far, I can confidently say that it is definitely one of the better services available here.

First up, I find the booking a cab thing to be pretty straight forward. There’s no need to wait in ‘que’ once you have called the customer-care to book a cab or log-in to their website. All you need to do is keep at-least Rs.200/- in your PayTm account (for Indian customers only) and hit the ‘Request Cab’ button in their mobile app, once you have selected your pick-up location on the map which you see once the app is launched (your current location is selected as the pick-up location by default).

In no time, the nearest available cab gets assigned to you and you get the driver’s name and number in the app, which also allows you to directly call or message the driver from within the app itself. From there-on, you can track your cab live on the map as it comes to pick you up.

Whenever I have booked an Uber-X, there has not even a single instance where the cars were not anything less than spotlessly clean, very much unlike other cab services available in Bangalore. Add to that, in all the 9-10 trips I have taken, every time the drivers have been polite and courteous, another ‘not so common’ thing!

The thing I like the most about taking a Uber is that, there’s no need to pay anything once you reach your destination. Once you are done with the trip and the driver ‘ends’ the trip, the fare gets deducted directly from your PayTm account (which you need to create/link while registering at Uber) and you get a detailed receipt with a map of the route travel and a detailed fare-breakup mailed to your email. You can also see all your trip detail(s) by logging in Uber’s website whenever you want.

Another thing I like about Uber is that, there’s always (well almost always) one or the other ‘offer’ going on which ultimately, brings down the final fare you pay for the ride! Uber also has a referral program where you & whoever registers with your referral code, both earn Rs. 300/-. If you want to try out Uber and want to avail a free initial credit of Rs.300/-, you can use my referral code RAJIVV11 while registering.

If there is one thing I would like to see added in the facilities Uber provides, it is an option of advance booking. There are times, specially late in the night and early in the morning, when the cab availability is not so good. For trips at such odd hours, it’s always better to have your cab booked in advance.