Why You Might Want to Use Uber or Lyft When Traveling Abroad

TPG Contributor Steven Ganeles shares a cautionary tale about what happened to him on a recent trip to China, and why he thinks you should consider using Uber or Lyft as an alternative to local taxis abroad.

 Public transportation is usually a great way to get around when traveling internationally — it’s cheap, easy to use and tends to run frequently and reliably. Its only real flaw is that there’s usually a point where the subway stops running, as not all cities have 24/7 service, so it’s a good idea to do your homework and find out the closing times when traveling abroad.

On a recent trip to Shanghai, both public transit options from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) to the city were closing down as I cleared customs. In order to save some money, I took the Shanghai Maglev Train from the airport as far as it would take me and planned to grab a cab from the Longyang Road Station the rest of the way to my hotel.

I followed all the conventional street smart rules for hiring a taxi in a foreign country — only go to a taxi stand, never get in the car with someone heckling to give you a ride, carry cash and always make the driver turn on the meter — but somehow I still managed to get into a cab with a rigged meter and ended up getting ripped off. My 17-minute trip from Longyang Road Station to the Renaissance Shanghai Yu Garden Hotel cost me 310 Yuan (~$46), while according to TaxiFarefinder.com, the trip should have cost at most 45 Yuan (~$7).

The experience left me angry and embarrassed. I knew I’d be heading back to the airport in just a few days to fly to Taipei and that my flight would once again be during the off-hours when the train wouldn’t be operating. At this point, I opened up my Lyft and Uber apps and realized I could use them to get around town without worrying about getting scammed by another taxi driver.

Read more: Why You Might Want to Use Uber or Lyft When Traveling Abroad.