Price of a 5-kilometer Uber ride in 67 cities around the world

The revolution in the taxi industry around the world has been very controversial in many cities and countries as the “ride sharing” service known as Uber has moved in. Leaving the politics of that aside for the moment, this has been a very big deal for travelers in the know.

I wrote a recent detailed article about how travelers can use Uber to save money AND add luxury to their trips, and the list below should help illustrate that point even more clearly. If you haven’t used Uber yet you might not be aware of how much easier the service is compared to traditional taxis, combined with the fact that it removes nearly all of the corruption you have to deal with regarding taxi drivers who refuse to use the meter or drive in circles and so forth.

Summary of why Uber is so helpful to travelers

  • Uber is usually cheaper than normal taxis
  • Uber drivers are screened so chances of getting scammed are very low
  • You can easily use Uber even if you and the driver don’t speak the same language
  • Uber drivers have to provide good service or they can get kicked out of the program

Cost of a 5-kilometer Uber ride in 67 major cities around the world

A few years ago we did something similar by listing the price of a 3-kilometer taxi ride in cities around the world. Those prices are now at least a bit out of date, but generally the order of cities hasn’t changed and most of the fares haven’t changed dramatically in the last few years anyway.

Uber helpfully lists all of their worldwide prices on their website, so it was relatively easy to compile the list below.

Prices below are for a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) ride lasting 10 minutes during normal fare periods for the cheapest Uber service available in each city.

The cheapest service is known as UberX or UberPOP in different cities, where the only requirement is that the vehicle has 4 doors and is no more than 10 years old. In most cities Uber also offers UberBLACK, which requires a luxury sedan or SUV for the driver. Some cities on the list below don’t offer the cheaper services so the price quoted is for UberBLACK service, noted as (Black) on the list.

Cost of a 5-kilometer Uber ride in 67 major cities around the world

Prices converted to US dollars in August, 2015

  1. US$1.17 – Jakarta, Indonesia
  2. $1.33 – New Delhi, India
  3. $1.47 – Cairo, Egypt
  4. $1.51 – Hanoi, Vietnam
  5. $1.58 – Beijing, China
  6. $1.61 – Kuta, Bali, Indonesia (Uber Black)
  7. $1.64 – Bangkok, Thailand
  8. $1.91 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  9. $1.93 – Manila, Philippines
  10. $2.04 – Mumbai, India
  11. $2.39 – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  12. $2.42 – St. Petersburg, Russia
  13. $2.65 – Moscow, Russia
  14. $2.66 – Sofia, Bulgaria
  15. $2.67 – Bucharest, Romania
  16. $2.74 – Mexico City, Mexico
  17. $3.10 – Amman, Jordan
  18. $3.20 – Lima, Peru
  19. $3.65 – Panama City, Panama
  20. $3.67 – Cape Town, South Africa
  21. $3.77 – Krakow, Poland
  22. $4.04 – Taipei, Taiwan
  23. $4.20 – Budapest, Hungary
  24. $4.30 – Beirut, Lebanon
  25. $4.36 – Nairobi, Kenya
  26. $4.44 – Prague, Czech Republic
  27. $4.60 – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  28. $5.11 – Casablanca, Morocco
  29. $5.22 – Shanghai, China
  30. $5.25 – Santiago, Chile
  31. $5.38 – Dubai, UAE
  32. $5.52 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Black)
  33. $5.61 – Tallinn, Estonia
  34. $5.72 – Abu Dhabi, UAE
  35. $5.72 – Lisbon, Portugal
  36. $5.90 – Los Angeles, USA
  37. $6.15 – Singapore, Singapore
  38. $6.36 – Milan, Italy
  39. $6.55 – Miami, USA
  40. $7.53 – Toronto, Canada
  41. $7.63 – Brussels, Belgium
  42. $7.79 – Chicago, USA
  43. $7.90 – Amsterdam, Netherlands
  44. $8.16 – Washington DC, USA
  45. $8.26 – Montreal, Canada
  46. $8.69 – Stockholm, Sweden
  47. $8.97 – Melbourne, Australia
  48. $9.03 – Hong Kong, Hong Kong (Black)
  49. $9.10 – Vienna, Austria
  50. $9.83 – San Francisco, USA
  51. $10.19 – Vancouver, Canada
  52. $10.19 – Sydney, Australia
  53. $10.25 – Auckland, New Zealand
  54. $12.54 – Paris, France
  55. $12.54 – Nice, France
  56. $12.54 – Munich, Germany
  57. $12.72 – Rome, Italy
  58. $13.01 – Zurich, Switzerland
  59. $13.38 – Seoul, South Korea (Black)
  60. $13.67 – New York City, USA
  61. $15.47 – Istanbul, Turkey (Black)
  62. $15.91 – London, England
  63. $18.57 – Tokyo, Japan (Black)
  64. $20.17 – Helsinki, Finland (Black)
  65. $20.44 – Dublin, Ireland (Black)
  66. $26.35 – Copenhagen, Denmark (Black)
  67. $31.99 – Oslo, Norway (Black)

How the above prices were calculated

Uber lists current prices on its website and they consist of:

  • Base fare (flag fall)
  • Price per minute
  • Price per kilometer (or mile)
  • Minimum total fare (5 kilometers is above the minimum in all cases)

The fares above were calculated with the Base Fare and a 5-kilometer (or 3.1 mile) ride that lasts exactly 10 minutes. Needless to say, traffic and speed conditions will vary in each city and at different times of day, so the fare could be a bit higher or lower.

Uber says there is no need to add a tip for the driver, and there is no easy way of doing it either, so passengers are left to tip in cash if they like, although reports are that 90% of Uber passengers don’t tip at all.

Notable cities that AREN’T currently offering Uber service at all

  • Athens
  • Barcelona
  • Berlin
  • Edinburgh
  • Las Vegas
  • Madrid
  • Tel Aviv

Uber is an outstanding deal in many cities where taxis are often dishonest

If you do a bit of world traveling you may be aware that in many of the world’s cheapest cities and even in some of the more expensive ones, it can be almost impossible to get normal taxi drivers to use the meter or give you a price that reflects the local laws. Kuala Lumpur is one example with cheap taxi rates but where drivers charge whatever they want anyway.

Moscow is another famous example where tourists in particular are at the mercy of taxi drivers (both professional and amateur), and where the Uber fares are reasonable and predictable.

Long story short, if Uber is operating in a city that you’ll be visiting, you’ll be wise to make sure you have the smartphone app and an account. I recently visited Mexico City, where none of my Uber drivers (or many other people around town) spoke English, yet I was able to enter my destination on my phone and get a fast Uber ride for a shockingly low total with no stress. Mexico City is much nicer than you’d expect but it also has a history of criminal taxi drivers that carries on today.

>>>Sign up with Uber with this link and get your first ride (up to US$20) free

Interesting notes on the above data

1. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the fare order above mostly matches the order of our annual survey of the cheapest cities in the world known as the Backpacker Index.

2. If the Uber website is to believed, the UberBLACK service in Bali is by far the cheapest in the world, and an incredible bargain.

3. At the moment, a 5km ride in Beijing (US$1.58) costs less than one-third of that ride in Shanghai (US$5.22).

4. A 5km Uber ride in Stockholm is currently only US$8.69 for a small group of people, while the cheapest and shortest subway ride there is US$4.16 per person.

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  1. Deane says:

    Dear Roger, we would like to have a bit more insight into the data set if available. Please contact me.

    1. Roger Wade says:

      Deana,

      The data was from the Uber website at the time of writing. -Roger

  2. marina says:

    in athens you can use taxi beat which is kind the same!