Know Before You Go
Actually, I should say download before you go. OK this is a little bit luxurious for the budget traveler, totally essential for the business traveler and absolutely smart to keep in your back pocket as a safety measure for every traveler. It’s an app for your iPhone or Droid called Uber. It works in a bunch of cities already, spreading out in every direction from New York to Seattle to London.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS
You sign up for an account, then punch in your location on a map and get picked up by a driver in a black car and whisked away to your destination. They charge the card on your account and it includes tax and tip, so you don’t have to pay the driver anything.
So a trip from Capitol Hill to downtown costs $17 and a ride to the airport from downtown is $50 ALL-INCLUSIVE. So about equal to or a bit more than what you would pay a cab, only you better have cash on you because some cabbies bite your head off if you make them run a card.
Maybe I’m just clumsy, but one of my first thoughts was how this app could really come in handy if I ever lost my wallet and was stranded. PLUS the Uber people love social media and have wholly embraced the potential of technology. They ramp up their drivers at critical times and have much more reliable pick-ups than cabs, especially on weekend nights when demand peaks. Nothing like knowing you have a safe, reliable ride in your pocket when traveling without a car, don’t you think?
So visitors coming here and locals too, should be uber smart before you travel and have a reliable ride one button away.
SEATTLE UBER RATES
| Pricing |  |
 |
| Base Fare Start with this fare | $7.00 | $14.00 |
| Per Mile Speed over 11mph | $3.75 | $4.50 |
| Per Minute Speed at or below 11mph | $0.75 | $0.90 |
| Minimum Fare | $12.00 | $20.00 |
| Cancellation Fee | $10.00 | $10.00 |
| Flat Rates | |
|
| Downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Between Downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. | $50 | $65 |
| Downtown Bellevue and Sea-Tac Between Downtown Bellevue and Sea-Tac Airport. | $65 | $80 |
| Sample Fares | |
|
| Capitol Hill to Downtown | $17 | $25 |
| Madison Park to Downtown | $24 | $35 |
| Ballard to Capitol Hill | $30 | $44 |
| West Seattle to Downtown | $39 | $57 |
| Downtown Bellevue to Downtown | $45 | $65 |
