Recent Experiences with Uber and Bolt?

Thanks for pointing this out. Just posting in the Portugal forum really isn't sufficient information. lol
I'm specifically talking about Lisbon, Sintra and Evora, although I understand Bolt or Uber to be recommended for transport from Lisbon to Sintra, so I'm assuming it's okay there. The post I read was talking about Sintra problems issues with having scheduled pickup to take them to the airport failing to pick them up. They had 35 cancelled requests. Yikes! I'm wanting to take Bolt from Sintra into the train station, Sete Rios, so that we can get a train to Evora but they don't run as frequently so I need reliability. We could travel by bus but I cannot find an itinerary for that and given the choice we would prefer the trian.

Living here without a car, I use Bolt and/or Uber regularly. Occasionally I get a cancellation but always get another driver quickly. I really don’t understand the story of 35 cancellations. It is worse in the summer with the increase of tourists and for very short trips. Uber now has the ability to schedule a trip ahead of time. I’ve only used it once for a very early trip but it worked well.

If you are really worried, you can always arrange a private transfer with the many companies that offer this service. You will pay more, but I might be worth it for your peace of mind. I, personally, would go with Uber or Bolt.

Can't say any specifics about the situation with multiple cancellations, but just guessing they were trying to arrange a ride well before needing it, from a relatively remote area (not in the city), and likely for an early morning pickup. That is not really what Bolt or Uber is truly designed for. Most likely drivers saw the big fare, grabbed it before another driver did, then reviewed the details and said "aw, hell no" and cancelled.

If you want a pickup like that, go to a driving/transfer service, if you need a ride right now, or in a little bit, that is what Bolt/Uber is for. That is dependent though on driver density, meaning there are multiple drivers operating most of the time in an area, and someone is free.

Myself, last time I did use Uber in Portugal, since I had the app and an account anyway, this time I also downloaded Bolt, just based on feedback that drivers seem to prefer Bolt

I only used Uber once in Lisbon, from the airport. Worked perfectly. I dithered for several days before leaving about whether to take a taxi (heard from Rick's guidebook and my Air BnB hosts about the prevalence of dishonesty among taxi drivers) vs Metro (my AirBnB was an uphill hike from Santa Apolonia station) vs Uber (reported unreliability). I decided to try Uber and if I couldn't get a pickup, I'd take a taxi.
I had also read some older posts about the (former) rideshare pickup location at the airport being such a cluster that drivers were refusing to pick up from there too. It's in a new location and pickups didn't seem to be an issue.

Not specific for Portugal but the only time Uber drivers have cancelled on me is for an early morning 3am pickup in Mexico City to drive to the airport-only 20mins away. Most likely these drivers got better fares and at 3am there aren't many people who want to be picked up at the airport. In these cases, a car service or taxi is more reliable.

That said, I've always had good service with Uber and in many countries, the cars are pristine and drivers polite. Plus, even if they don't know English, they have the information and address on their app. After riding in Mexico City traffic, I have a new respect for anyone that has to drive that every day with no lane markings on the road and motorcycles that seemingly do what they want. The roundabouts were particularly unnerving.

So while you do hear the occasional Uber horror stories, in RL I've never met anyone who had a truly horrible experience.

We used Bolt in Portugal and did not have any difficulties. Based on my research, bolt is probably more popular and cheaper in Portugal than Uber.

Not sure why that particular person received 35 cancellations. Just remember that both drivers and passengers can rate each other. Who would want to pick up a passenger with a poor rating for a long ride?

Thanks for the information. I have Bolt downloaded and ready for you in Lisboa

Booking Uber a day or two in advance doesn't mean much.

All it means that uber will start working on your request about an hour in advance.
It does not guarantee availability

As I often stress on this forum, drivers in Portugal do prefer Bolt over Uber as they take smaller cut from them.

You can also take train from Sintra to Sete Rios.

For private car+driver, Fernando Batista of PortugalChauffeur.com has been recommended on this forum and he is known to give small "KENI" discount to Rick Steves forum folks.

In Lisbon currently for a few days and used Uber one time and Bolt several times with no problems from either. Bolt is really inexpensive

My recent experience in Lisbon was similar, used Bolt 4-5 times in a couple days. No real issues, there were cases of putting in my destination and a driver would take it, but then not confirm, so another driver would do so, then a third, but I always got a driver, and once confirmed, no cancellations. If you are going from one obscure location, to another, then forgo "economy" and pick the regular for a couple euro more, better chance to get a driver right away.

@TravelJunkie, PortugalChauffeur.com doesn't seem to be valid anymore.

@Paul, thank you for the information. Was there an extended wait time, having multiple drivers picking it up and then not confirming? I would hate to miss a tour bus because I didn't allow enough time for the ride to arrive, thinking it was as straight forward as here in the US.
Thanks

Our experiences in Portugal with Bolt (and some Uber) over multiple recent trips have been far better than usual experience with Lyft and Uber stateside
Cancellations are rare in Lisbon
In Sintra, one has to be reasonable with expectations.
If you try to hail one at Moorish Castle, cancellations are very likely.
Because of one way traffic, it's ridiculous for cars waiting/dropping at Pena Park to accept pickup at Moorish Castle.

But in general rule of thumb all over the world with rideshare is that when reaching somewhere is extremely time sensitive (catching train for example), you must have enough buffer and/or fallback option.

More remote/unusual pickup point, more chances of issues. Similarly, other events (football game, road closures) affect availability.

In such situations, in Lisbon, we used services of Fernando Batista whose website, gmail and WhatsApp contact is alive and well and his services were used by my next door neighbor just yesterday (and they got his KENI discount for Rick Steves forum members too)

Was there an extended wait time, having multiple drivers picking it up and then not confirming?

No, all of that is happening within a minute or so. I am sure they are quick to grab a fare, then consider drive time, traffic, and the likelihood of getting another fare near where they drop you off. With Bolt, you see the process, with Uber, you just wait a minute for the ride to be set up.

Wait times were not bad, anywhere from a few minutes to under 10 minutes. Just leave yourself plenty of time, traffic in Lisbon can get bad, the time from the airport was about double what was initially calculated, and near where we stayed, a number of streets were blocked off with, I believe, work on the Metro, so traffic was diverted.

In October 2023, we had zero issues taking Uber from downtown (Moxy hotel) to the airport. Opened the app, selected the options, and waited less than 10 mins. The car/trip was fast, clean, friendly, and by US Uber standards, insanely cheap. Door to door was like 7 Euros vs a shorter similar Uber trip when we got home for $20.

I don't know what "cheap" is for most, but a 7 Euro airport ride is insanely cheap to me (two people and luggage) especially as their fuel is a bit more expensive too.