Uber in London

Following.

I only used Uber once while I was in London. I used it to get from our rented flat to the train station with our luggage. It was a very positive experience. The car was there within 5 minutes. It was clean, the driver quite personable and the rate was 10 pounds less than when we had taken a taxi from that same station to the flat.
I liked that I could just use the app on my phone to get the ride.

The remainder of the time we used the tube and many buses. We found these came often and were very convenient. If you don't already have the CityMapper App on your phone, you will want to load it on prior to your journey. You put in your current location, your destination and it tells you where to catch the bus, which bus to catch, how long until the next bus, etc. In addition, it tracks your progress and also tells you when to get off the bus.

Thanks Carol. Good tip re the App.
Was primarily wondering if there were any restrictions using it inside the city of London itself, ie are there any "no go" zones where Uber traffic is prohibited ... that sort of thing.

I think uber, taxis, buses all have access to limited areas. We were charged a 1.5 pound surcharge for being picked up in a controlled area. It didn't bother me.

Uber can't use bus lanes on roads. Black cab taxis can

My experiences of Uber lately (and many others) has been attrocious. Not only do you have to put up with price surging you now experience bookings being dropped without warning because the driver has decided to take on a more lucrative fare leaving you with no other option than to try again or seek alternative transport. Where once Uber was my first choice they have now become my last resort.

I don't take Uber on principle but I am well aware of the no-notice very high "surge" pricing, often for no reason, used by this company in London, and their awful record of not looking after their customers.

I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

Nigel & JC: thanks for the feedback.
My question now is: if not Uber, then what? Is there a preferred taxi provider that either of you can recommend?
My specific interest is in booking rides from the vicinity of Kensington to Hampton Court Palace and Kew one day, down to Greenwich another, and finally to Heathrow for our flight out on our last day. I've looked at schedules for both the tube and boat trips to Kew & Greenwich and would prefer the convenience and time saving features of a taxi if the cost isn't terribly outrageous.
Am very much open to suggestions here. Thanks again.

You don’t mention your exact dates, but I found myself wondering how the train strike would impact other modes of transport. Most people would take the train to Hampton Court because it is quite convenient and a 3 minute walk from the station.

Will demand increase along with costs for other modes of transport?

Carol: this will be at the end of June - our return flight to the US is the 30th.
Am dearly hoping that the train strike will be over by then but, if not, I need to be thinking (and planning) ahead.

For the return to Heathrow from central London there are car services that are regularly recommended.

www.justairports.com
www.simplyairports.co.uk
www.blackberrycars.com

If there was a train strike your other destinations by car would - I expect - be awful, the roads would be completely gridlocked. Nor would car travel be particularly convenient on other days, if you are stuck in the regular traffic.

Or you could use a traditional black cab and make a deal with the driver.

Have done that more than once. They know the roads, routes, shortcuts, et al.

I view Uber and Starbucks as evil incarnations.
Bad drivers and undrinkable java.

Katy: thanks for the links. Much appreciated.
Claudia: we've used the Black Cabs in the past as well, and that will be my default choice I suppose. Was just wondering if there was a more cost-effective (and reliable) alternative for short day trips from the city.

Katy: my thinking here (what there was of it) was that I could save time and streamline our days by booking a taxi/Uber to and from Kew and Greenwich for the convenience of the door to door service, and thereby avoid having to make our way to a tube station or the ferry terminal - neither of which are particularly close to our accommodation and so would take some getting to. Will surface traffic congestion going to either place, with or without a train strike, make that a poor choice? Tx.

The large minicab operations in London such as Uber and Addison Lee have been particularly stretched as drivers haven't come back to them after Covid.