When travelling abroad, I’ll often check to see if Uber is operating in the city I’m visiting. Part of it is curiosity – as a San Francisco resident, I like to see just how much Silicon Valley has infiltrated other towns. But there are also many practical reasons for using Uber, such as knowing how much you’re going to be charged in advance (thus, avoiding possibly being scammed) and being able to enter my destination at the outset, instead of having to give location using a language I barely know.
So, I was very happy when I was in Santiago, Chile and I discovered that Uber was thriving in the city. For the most part during my trip, I used their excellent public transportation system, and the weather was nice enough for a lot of walking. I also used a van service at the airport to take me to my Airbnb in Provedencia.
But when it was time to leave Chile and head back to San Francisco, I decided to try taking an Uber.
Because my location was directly above a metro stop, I decided to walk to a quiet street corner to hail my ride. One thing I wanted to avoid was having a driver call me asking for directions in Spanish, since my speaking skills are no bueno. This worked out well for me, as the driver was able to easily find me.
My driver ended up speaking perfect English, which was especially refreshing because I had gone a few days with barely speaking to anyone in person. He was an environmental engineering student at a university in Santiago, and we spoke a lot about the waste in the city (when you go to a grocery store, you get like 5 plastic bags per items you buy!), and how much I enjoyed the country.
The ride from Provedencia to the international airport was easy, and came in at around $18 for a 25-minute ride in afternoon traffic (I was picked up around 4:30pm on a Thursday).
Interestingly, at the airport, the driver dropped me off around guest parking. Apparently, Uber is not allowed to operate at Santiago’s airport, and my driver let me know if he was caught, they would confiscate his car. The drop off point he selected was fine though, and a 3-minute walk to inside of the terminal.
I would defintely d
