The good news for travellers is that UBER service is now presented in Baku, the taxi fares are now 10 times cheaper that used to be before and the service is getting increasingly popular among both locals and foreign tourists. It is cheaper to get around Baku only by using a public transport. At this stage the only available service is Uber Black (http://blog.uber.com/uberbaki), that signs up only the owners of the business class autos such as BMW, Mercedes, Audi. But the rates are amazingly good for Baku, that was notorious for many years before for sky-high prices for taxi services.
One of the reasons for rapidly growing popularity is a radical reduction in prices for taxi services. For example, before to book a taxi to pick you up at some address costed 2 Manats (1.5$), now it will cost only 0.55 AZN (30 cents), the fee per kilometer is reduced now from 0.90 to 0.34 AZN, for every minute of the trip - from 0.20 to 0.02 AZN. And the payment of the fare has to be done by credit card, so you will avoid arguing with the drivers that used to inflate prices before for foreigners.
Here are examples of popular routes and prices for the trip. For Baku residents: the ride from ‘28Mall’ shopping centre to Inshaatchilar Metro station will cost 2-4 manat; from Park Bulvar to Axmedli / Neftchilar Metro stations: 4-6 AZN. For tourists: from Old City (Qosha gala point) to Hilton Hotel 1-2 AZN. For foreign business people from Port Baku to Caspian Plaza 1-3 AZN. From today (10 March 2016) they also introduced a new tarifffor the trip to/from airport to/from any part of the city - 7 AZN.
According to the company the success of Uber platform lies in its efficiency. The order placed through the app is sent to the nearest driver that decreases downtime and idle time. Since the launch of the service in Baku Uber could significantly increase the number of driver partners in the system, reducing the average time for vehicle arrival from 8 to 5 minutes.
The effectiveness of the system creates additional resources that could be directed for further development of the business in the city by attracting more users and offering lower prices.
"Due to the influx of new users, Uber drivers will be provided with a large number of orders in Baku, which will allow them to maintain a decent level of income," - assured service administrators.
Uber in Baku is now the most affordable way to get around the city, which operates on the basis of non-cash payment. Uber users can assess the cost of the trip before it starts right through the app. Pricing is fully transparent - no need to discuss the fare with the driver or look for change. This greatly contributes to the comfort and safety of the service.
New users can use a promocode BAKU1LOVE (until 30 April 2016) and receive a free first ride for the amount not exceeding 10 AZN.
