Does Uber Work in Colombia? – Guide to Uber in Colombia

If you’re planning a trip, you might be considering using Uber in Colombia to get around.

However, you might be wondering “Does Uber work in Colombia?” or “Is Uber legal in Colombia?” and find or hear contradictory information.

That’s because Uber Colombia has a bit of a complicated legal history and operates in what is still sort of a gray area.

As of the publication of this article (in April 2024) Uber operates as fully legal in Colombia and has become a popular option for getting around by both locals and foreign visitors, especially in Colombia’s largest city.

So, if you’re looking for a simple answer, yes, Uber works in Colombia.

In the article that follows, I’ll go over what to expect when using Uber in Colombia, its legal history in Colombia, why I’m not a huge fan of it, and some alternatives.

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn from purchases made after clicking those links. Disclosure Policy.

Using Uber in Colombia – What to Expect

In the largest cities like Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, and Cartagena, you should be able to use it much like you would in the US or elsewhere.

Small towns it might be absent or have few drivers.

To be honest, I never used Uber much in my time living in Colombia and, to be frank, don’t plan on using it much in the future either (I’ll explain why below), especially since there are some good alternatives in Colombia (which I’ll also talk about below).

Still, if you already use Uber and prefer to use it, then you should feel safe using it in Colombia. The same app you already have on your phone should work fine, and you can use a saved credit card, and well, it pretty much all works the same.

It’s not the worst idea to pay in cash rather than a card to prevent the handful of bad actor drivers that scam people into paying for rides you didn’t actually take. To be honest though, I don’t think the risk of that is all that much higher in Colombia than in the US or elsewhere.

The only other thing to keep in mind is you’ll need access to data on your phone or WiFi, so make sure you have an international roaming plan with data, buy a local sim card, or order your Colombia Uber before leaving a place with WiFi.

Is Uber Legal in Colombia? – A Complicated History

Yes.

Uber is legal in Colombia.

However, it has had a sort of roller coaster legal status.

Uber started operating in Colombia in 2012 or 2013 and had grown to be pretty popular by 2015. Around this time, taxi drivers in many of Colombia’s biggest cities began protesting against it and accused Uber and its drivers of engaging in unfair competition.

Since Uber characterized itself as a technology company not a taxi service or even a transportation company, they did not have to follow the same rules and regulations as other forms of transportation.

Colombian Uber drivers faced occasional intimidation from taxi drivers and there were a few incidents of harassment and outright violence. As far as I know these incidents were confined to Bogotá, where the app was most popular.

In fact, in 2016, the Colombian government fined Uber before outright declaring Uber illegal in Colombia and going so far as impounding some vehicles of Uber drivers. You can read more about this crackdown in this Business Insider article.

Uber did continue to basically clandestinely operate in a sort of legal gray area without clear regulation and, for the most part, the government relaxed and did not escalate the crackdown. Taxi drivers would occasionally organize protests, but generally Uber continued to grow more popular and become more ubiquitous even though it was semi-illegal.

I remember taking a few Ubers in Bogotá around this time and having to do things like sit in the front seat with the driver asking me to say I was a friend if we were stopped by the police or get out a block early because there was a policeman near my destination.

Things like this were minor annoyances and why I never really saw a point in using it much, along with the fact that it wasn’t all that common in Cartagena where I lived at that point. I have some other reasons why I don’t really plan to use it anymore now I’ll talk about below.

But I digress.

In late 2019, Uber was effectively banned when the government industry regulatory board (Superintendencia de industria y comercio) declared it was unfair and illegal competition with taxis.

Uber responded by leaving Colombia entirely for a short time in early 2020.

Then, in February 2020, it modified its operating status and reentered Colombia. This new status made it not a taxi service, not a ride hailing app, but a car rental service that just so happens to include a driver with the rental.

Later that year, a Bogotá court also ruled against the ban, and Uber continued to operate.

Finally, a Supreme Court decision in late 2023 effectively confirmed Uber’s legal status in Colombia by upholding that Bogotá court’s ruling (text of the decision here).

However, it’s worth pointing out, and at least in my view, interesting, that these decisions were decided primarily based on the courts ruling that the complaint that Uber was competing unfairly was filed past the legal statute of limitations.

The Supreme Court did highlight that access to new technology was a human right and that platforms like Uber represent a rapidly changing environment that can’t necessarily be regulated using previous means.

However, they didn’t exactly it was fair competition either. It basically declared Uber legal on a technicality. At the least it saved the court from backlash from Uber users and taxi drivers by not really deciding the heart of the issue.

Still, the decision effectively makes Uber fully legal in Colombia.

It’s possible there will be some sort of clearer regulatory legislation down the road, but for now Uber is legal in Colombia and I suspect it’s popular enough that it is unlikely to go away.

Why I’m Still Unlikely to Use Uber in Colombia

So, as I mentioned earlier, I rarely used Uber when I was living in Cartagena, Colombia.

Honestly, the times I used it I could probably count on one hand. I’m pretty sure they were all in Bogotá, and at least a few times were due to a friend or colleague insisting I use it instead of a taxi.

I honestly don’t plan to use Uber in Colombia in the future either even if I won’t have to deal with the weird awkwardness of sitting in the front seat and saying I’m the driver’s friend.

Why not?

Simply put, I don’t think Uber is a good actor.

I mean, do we honestly believe we are renting a car when we get an Uber?

Is a company who has spent tons on legal fees and lobbying to avoid registering the way a government says it should worth supporting?

Look, I see you saying, Uber is just competition. If people use it instead of taxis, that just means it’s a better service.

Sure, I’ll give you taxis suck at least some of the time and overcharge more than I’d like them to.

However, Uber really isn’t competing under the same conditions. In fact, they have repeatedly circumvented regulations via weird legal loopholes not just in Colombia but all over the world.

So, they aren’t some great altruistic actor saving us from the tyranny of the big bad taxis, as successful as they and so many other tech companies have been at selling us that narrative of themselves.

They are a business out to make money.

To be honest, I think Uber’s goal is to corner the market as much as possible so that eventually they can up prices (which by the way aren’t regulated the way taxi fares are). I’m sure they will be more than happy to cut out their drivers (who they don’t exactly treat great anyways) once self-driving cars become the norm.

I just don’t buy their pretend altruistic talk of “democratizing” transportation.

I also think they’ll probably be pretty successful.

I recently shared a post I put together covering the legally established taxi prices in Cartagena (you can check that out here by the way) in some Facebook Colombia travel groups. Both in the article and the post, I mention that Uber and other ride apps can be good alternatives, but it’s still worth knowing the prices so you have a baseline to compare if you’re being charged fairly.

I was a bit taken aback by the number of responses and comments that just said, don’t bother with taxis, just use Uber. If your argument is I use Uber because it’s cheaper, isn’t it worth knowing the taxi fares? I don’t know, it sure feels like a lot of those people have drunk the Uber-aid and are none the wiser for it.

I think there’s a confluence of things here, not just a successful narrative that Uber has cultivated of themselves as the good and consumer friendly guys but also our societal addiction to doing everything on our phones now. I’m pretty sure Uber could begin to charge more than the legal taxi rates and lots of these people would still saying no, taxis rip you off, use Uber.

Ok, I’m sorry rant over.

If you want to use Uber in Colombia, use it.

Honestly, despite all that ranting I’ll still be begrudgingly using it sometimes back home in South Carolina where there aren’t taxis on the street and calling one means a long wait.

But in my opinion, there are enough better alternatives so that I’ll be avoiding Uber in Colombia.

Alternatives to Uber Colombia

The first alternative to Uber in Colombia is good ole taxis!

In most cities and towns of Colombia, taxis are fairly plentiful and easy to flag down and just about the easiest and most convenient way to get anywhere. I almost always just flagged taxis down in my 11 years living in Colombia.

However, there are some issues with taxis in Colombia.

First, there are cases of overcharging. Second, there are in rare cases safety issues. Finally, some taxi drivers are just rude and obnoxious.

In much of Colombia, including Bogotá and Medellín, there are meters in the taxis and while there are still scams with taking long, round about ways, it mitigates most of the problem of overcharging.

Cartagena is the worst culprit here since there aren’t meters here. Again, please check out that article linked above to know how much you should pay for common fares in Cartagena.

For safety, especially in Bogotá, it’s best to have a bar or restaurant call you a taxi at night. Or you can use one of the other Uber alternatives below, or even Uber itself.

For annoying drivers, I don’t have much to help. I guess ignore them and try not to let it get to you if they’re playing the Eagles, even if you’ve had a bad day.

I’ll be honest, one of the advantages of Uber is you know the price upfront. The nice thing is there are several other apps that also allow you to do that.

InDriver is very popular all around Colombia, and is the app I usually used when I used one.

While there are private Uber style drivers on there, a lot of the drivers on InDriver are registered taxis. Unlike Uber, it doesn’t give you a price, but you offer a price and the app searches for a driver who accepts it. The app does suggest a price, you can adjust it up if no one takes it, and drivers can even offer the price they are willing to take which you can agree to or continue waiting.

You can download InDriver app here.

Easy Taxi, known as Cabify in the US, is also still pretty common in much of Colombia.

I remember it being the first app of its kind that was popular in Cartagena. It also generally works with registered taxis. I should point out, by the way, that Uber has started to offer some registered taxi drivers on its app in some cities in Colombia too.

Didi is another ride app that I know is somewhat popular in Medellín and possibly Bogotá, but I never really heard of it being used much in Cartagena and I don’t have any experience using it.

Finally, you could also arrange for private transportation. My partner travel agency will offer you 20% off any of their private transport options (and any of their tours too!) if you book at this link with code ExploreColombia20.

Will You Use Uber in Colombia?

Maybe I’ve been too harsh, or too forward with my opinion of Uber. I won’t be using it since I’m good just flagging down taxis or, in the rare circumstance I don’t want to or can’t, using InDriver.

But if you like Uber and want to use it, feel safe that it is legal in Colombia and you can use it.