Oh, the infamous UberShuttle. Is it worth it? Is it not worth it? Here's how our experience trying it for the first time went.
So I did what any curious human being did: I gave it a shot (on my own dime). Surprisingly, I was much more pleased with the experience-mostly because I had three bags and my destination was a 10-minute walk from one of the routes-than I thought I'd be.
For one person, and my luggage situation, it was perfect. However, a private Uber would have yielded the most value for two people.
I had seen these things around for a bit, in and out of New York City, and had been occasionally blitzed with promo messages from the app. I also did some research to see whether it was worth it, where it actually went, and I was a little surprised when it popped up as an option when I landed at Newark Liberty International Airport last week.
Though riding the AirTrain and the NJ Transit (and finally the subway) costs $20.25, I also knew it would involve switching at three train stations, require navigating multiple escalator and stair systems amid rush hour.
Because I had arrived with three bags, I wanted to avoid this.
The UberShuttle cost $19.29, which ended up being 96 cents cheaper than the train. I guess the cost of transportation has really gone up these days?
It's pretty straightforward to book: Probably the most stressful part of the process is reaching the UberShuttle point of departure in the airport in time, so I would NOT book it until you are closer to exiting the baggage claim.
(An Uber rep did confirm to us that if you miss your designated shuttle, passengers wouldn't be automatically rebooked. The booking would be cancelled and the passenger would need to book onto the next available shuttle.)
There are also multiple routes going in and out of the same departure point, so make sure to ask the driver as I did.
It was super interesting to note that Uber does not seem to be operating the shuttles directly, but instead, seems to be contracting with third-party vendors.
Once I scanned in the QR code, I loaded up my bags on, and no one said anything about my third bag 😅
In the passengers' seat. (Erica Ho / Map Happy)
The drive into the city was pretty seamless, taking 29 minutes to reach my preferred stop starting at 3:04PM.
In the end I got drooped off West 4th and 10th Street. It put me within 10-minute walk to the apartment where I was staying, which was a pretty uneventful walk, but maybe a little bit slower than I'd like, because again bags.
There is an option to tip, for what it's worth, and luckily Uber does not automatically add it.
Mostly, I was shocked that it actually ended up being cheaper than NJ Transit, but the main downside with UberShuttle is that the routes are quite limited.
It was well worth it, considering how tired I was (delays aren't fun!) and how heavy my bags were (the three bags were walkable, but it wasn't going to be a joy navigating through a subway full of people).
In the end, I would have rather dealt with a few cobblestoned streets versus lugging three suitcases up and down various stairways, escalators, and people.
There were other folks traveling together on the shuttle, but given that a private Uber cost around $54, I think its only great for solo travelers, since it wouldn't have gone direct for two people and would have been close to the same price.
