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Cross The Mexican Border With Uber: First Cross-Border Service Will Take You From San Diego To Tijuana For $100

By Tara West
Published on: 07:48 PST, Mar 20, 2016

Uber has launched its first cross-border service called UberPASSPORT. The service will take riders from San Diego to Tijuana, crossing the Mexican border, for $100. The ride can be split four ways making the trek as little as $25 per person. The fare includes a $20 “border crossing fee” and will take the riders all the way to the Tijuana airport.

The Daily Mail reports that Uber is offering its first cross-border service taking guests across country lines between the United States and Mexico. The service has been called UberPASSPORT and will take riders from San Diego, California, across the Mexican border to the Tijuana airport. This is the first Uber service of its kind and the fare of $100 includes a $20 border crossing fee. Fortunately for those willing to travel in small groups, the Uber service can take up to four people for the same $100 fare. Therefore, those splitting the fare four ways can catch a ride from San Diego to Tijuana for just $25 per person.

UberPassport is touted by the taxi service as a program that “connects sister cities with the tap of a button.” Uber notes that while they could have offered their first border-crossing service anywhere, they chose to begin the UberPASSPORT journey with San Diego and Tijuana because they are “sister cities.”

“While there are many places we could have launched this product, we recognize the importance of the largest border crossing in the world and the unique relationship between San Diego and Tijuana – sister cities whose family, culture and economies are closely linked.”

Uber notes that they want to provide reliable and consistent service between the two cities that are so closely connected and UberPASSPORT allows them to do just that. In honor of the unveiling of UberPASSPORT, Ryan Graves, Head of Global Operations and a San Diego native, joined the San Diego mayor to make the first UberPASSPORT voyage into Tijuana from San Diego. Graves notes that the cross-border trip was completely seamless and that it will allow Uber passengers an experience that is unparalleled.

“Connecting and celebrating great cities, like San Diego and Tijuana, is right in Uber’s wheelhouse. Their rich cultures and vibrant economies are seamlessly connected, and we hope that by making the cross-border trip just as seamless, we can unlock even more travel opportunities and make the experience better for our riders.”

Though the trip into Tijuana is seamless, it is noted that the return journey requires a few additional steps. An Uber user will not be able to schedule a full return trip. Instead, a user will need to schedule an Uber trip from Tijuana to the border and then a second ride from the border back to San Diego. There is currently no option for a full return journey through the border. Therefore, Uber users who enter Mexico via an Uber service will need to catch a ride back to the border and walk across before entering their second ride which will return them to San Diego.

With Uber rolling out the cross-border service between San Diego and Tijuana, it is likely only a matter of time before Uber begins offering other border crossing options for riders between the United States, Mexico and Canada. There are numerous crossing points across the U.S. that Uber can likely utilize in the future.

What border-crossing trip do you think Uber will begin offering next? Would you utilize Uber to drive you across the Mexican border? Does the fact that the return journey requires two separate drivers deter you from using the service?

[Photo by Eric Risberg/AP Photo]

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