Is There Uber in Colombia?

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Are you planning a trip to Colombia and wondering “Is there Uber in Colombia?”

As Uber has become so ubiquitous around the world, it’s a common question, and one that is often answered with outdated or incorrect information online.

You’ll commonly see people comment that Uber is illegal in Colombia.

However, that’s not true.

Uber is legal in Colombia, but it does operate in a bit of a legal gray area and has a complicated history with Colombian regulators.

In this post, I’ll get to the bottom of how Uber Colombia operates, go over its legal history, and why you shouldn’t worry about using it, but I’ll also share some alternatives.

Is Uber Illegal in Colombia?

Ok, let’s dispel the myth that Uber is illegal in Colombia that has been perpetuated in many corners of the internet.

Uber is not illegal in Colombia.

But, it’s a bit complicated and it is maybe not exactly fully legal either and in theory could expose users to some weird legal risks (I’ll explain more below).

To be clear though, the Colombian Supreme Court ruled Uber is not illegal in a 2023 decision, allowing it to effectively operate legally.

I’ll cover a bit more detail about Uber’s history in Colombia below, but if you’re just here for a quick answer to the question “Does Uber work in Colombia?” the answer is yes.

You shouldn’t worry about using Uber in Colombia and getting in trouble or being harassed, and it has a strong presence in most major Colombian cities now.

So, if you like using Uber, feel free to use it.

I personally question their ethics due to their skirting of regulations in Colombia and elsewhere, and because I believe their end goal is to corner the market by the time self-driving cars arrive.

Then, they can screw over their their drivers more than they already seem to, then screw the public over with price hikes on top of the taxi drivers and transportation companies that, you know, followed the law, that they’ve already screwed over.

I’ve used Uber back in South Carolina where I’m from because taxis aren’t a thing, but I’ve always found taxis easy to flag down and use in Colombia and see no reason to use Uber there.

I’ve also personally always liked the InDrive app better than Uber too, especially since most drivers on there are regulated taxi drivers and you can negotiate the price.

Why Do People Say Uber is Illegal in Colombia?

Because for a time it was.

Uber Colombia has had a bit of a roller coaster ride with regulators and its legal status.

Uber started operating in Colombia in 2012 or 2013 and had grown to be pretty popular, particularly in Bogotá, 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.

That’s because Uber characterized itself as a technology company, not a taxi service or even a transportation company. This allowed them to skirt the regulations and license requirements that applied to taxis and other official forms of public transportation.

Colombian Uber drivers faced occasional intimidation from taxi drivers and there were a few incidents of harassment and violence against them.

In fact, in 2016, the Colombian government fined Uber before outright declaring it illegal and going so far as impounding some vehicles of Uber drivers. You can read more about that 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 and still do, 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.

But I digress.

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

Uber responded with a clever PR move by leaving Colombia entirely for a short time in early 2020, leading to fans of its service to call for its return.

Then, in February 2020, Uber 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.

This was effectively a clever legal loophole, and if you consult Uber’s terms of use in Colombia, it clearly states in section 2, Uber connects you with an independent contractor to rent a car with a driver.

In theory, this could open up a user to being responsible for damages or legal exposure as the “renter” of the car in the case of an accident. In practice, I’ve never heard of any case of this happening.

Back to Uber Colombia’s legal history, in 2020, a Bogotá district court ruled against the 2019 Uber ban, so Uber continued to operate.

Finally, the 2023 Supreme Court decision 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 by the taxi union that Uber was competing unfairly was filed past the legal statute of limitations.

So, it basically declared Uber legal on a technicality.

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 state it was fair competition either.

So, Is Uber Legal in Colombia or not?

Yes. Uber is legal in Colombia.

While the 2023 Colombian Supreme Court decision declared Uber legal only by default since it ruled the challenge to its legal status was outside the statute of limitations, it effectively made Uber fully legal in Colombia.

It does leave open the possibility of some form of clearer regulatory legislation down the road though. However, I suspect it’s popular enough that it is unlikely to be a battle any politician is willing to fight. So, I imagine Uber in Colombia is here to stay.

Does Uber Work in Colombia?

Ok, we’ve covered the legality of Uber in Colombia, but does it work? Is it worth it?

I think I made my feelings on the company clear above, but the truth is, Uber works well in Colombia.

I understand why people like to use it. We are all addicted to our phones anyway, and you don’t have to worry about explaining where you want to go or understanding how much to pay if you don’t speak much Spanish.

This can be a nice advantage of using Uber in Cartagena, where there aren’t meters and taxi drivers are notorious for attempting to charge more than the legal Cartagena taxi prices.

In Colombia’s large cities like Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, and Cartagena, you should be able to use Uber in Colombia much like you would in the US or elsewhere.

Smaller towns it might be absent or have few drivers.

You don’t need to download a different version of the app if it’s already on your phone, and you should be able to use international cards saved for payment in your account with no problem.

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.

Do I Need to Sit in the Front Seat of Ubers in Colombia?

This is another common issue people raise online about Uber.

That’s because back in the days of the Colombia Uber ban and crackdown, it was common. Drivers would ask you to sit in the front seat and say you were their friend if police stopped you.

It was also fairly common they’d do things like drop you off a block away if police were around your destination or on the edge of airport terminals.

These measures really aren’t necessary, and, in my experience at least, aren’t common anymore. However, some drivers might still do them out of being misinformed or having PTSD or something.

It is true that at some airports, only taxis are allowed to park in the curbside waiting areas to pick up passengers, so you may have to walk a bit further or climb into your Uber quickly.

Alternatives to Uber Colombia

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

However, there are some issues with taxis in Colombia, mostly related to overcharging or just poor service.

It is nice to know your price upfront and see ratings of drivers, especially if you’re not aware of routes and normal prices. I would say, you could always check the cost of a Uber ride to give you a starting point for negotiation with taxis though.

I’ll again plug InDrive as a nice alternative. I like that you offer the price and can adjust it upwards in small increments if no driver accepts it.

You can download InDrive app here.

EasyTaxi, known as Cabify in the US, was the first app I remember being used in Cartagena and is still fairly common too.

Until Uber began to gain a lot of traction in Cartagena around 2019 or so, they were the only real app used there, and so it was the only one I really ever used.

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 InDrive.

But if you like Uber and want to use it, feel safe that it is legal in Colombia and you can use it without problems.