Although we don’t have Uber in Kuwait yet, we do have various other apps that pretty much do the same thing. Over the years I’ve posted about a few but never in one concise post, and since some have stopped working over the years, this list is of current active ones.
Q8 Grand Limo
This is my favorite app/service right now, and the one I’ve been using constantly. It’s really made my cabbing experience in Kuwait great, the cars are super clean and fancy, the drivers are very polite and tidy, and I haven’t had any issues with them since I started using them back in May. Costwise, they’re more expensive than regular street cabs but the experience really makes up for the price. Plus, they gave me a 20% promo code when I posted about them back in May so for me, trips don’t cost that much more than regular street cabs. They’ve got around 30 cabs in operation including a Mercedes S400 in case you want to splurge. I actually got picked up by the S400 a few weeks back when they were super busy and didn’t have their regular cars available. Let’s just say I forgave them for being late and they can always pick me up late if they’re gonna do so in the S400. You can also book a cab ahead of time which I’ve done when I needed a middle of the night ride to the airport. [Link]
Careem
Probably the closest thing to Uber in Kuwait right now since they’re Uber’s main competitor in the region. I’ve never used them but I’ve got friends who swear by them. Like Grand Limo, they also have a ride later option which many people use to schedule airport rides and they also have their own fleet of cars. [Link]
Q8 Taxi
This is an app I posted about a few years ago and were one of the early ones to launch in Kuwait. I tried using them back then a few times and had a fairly average experience and then one day, it just stopped working. Now it seems they’re back since they’ve been advertising their app pretty heavily. Haven’t tried them and don’t think I will, but they’re the cheapest option in this list since they use regular street cabs to pick you up. [Link]
If there are any other apps I’ve missed let me know in the comments.
31 replies on “Taxi Apps in Kuwait”
Careem is great but one thing let me down was that they can’t pick you up from the airport.
No taxis can pick you up from the Airport. Its just not allowed.
i think q8 grand limo do for KD10
Do they? It’s great, if they do.
Except the Airport Taxi
Carrem is now picking up from Airport as per latest message, however, the prices are same as Standard taxi Service already available at Airport.
Careem works good enough for Kuwait standards. I would not say that they have their own fleet, as I think they are just the typical white taxis. Normally they have a better quality and cleaningness than the regular taxis, but sadly not always.
Q8 Grand Limo have very nice and new cars. I used them once and it was not very pleasant, as the driver kept calling me to verify where I was even though they have the GPS location. Also he got lost and arrived super late. The icing on the cake was that he charged me 3KD for a 1,5KD ride (cash). I didn’t check the price in my phone at the end of the ride, so he basically ripped me off.
I will stay with Careem as they are good enough, and far more convenient than regular taxis. They are more expensive, but you you know what you’re paying for.
What do u mean he charged you KD3 for a KD1.5 ride? You mean the total for the ride at the end was 1.5 yet he charged you 3? Or do you usually pay 1.5 for a similar ride with a street taxi but q8 limo charged u 3?
Hi Mark. It was the former. I checked the app when I went home and it was 1,5KD, but the guy told me it was 3. I was in a rush and I paid without complaining, although the price seemed surprising.
Did u file a complaint?
Nah, the app did not allow to make an easy claim, and I didn’t have the energy to call an operator and discuss, especially when I paid cash.
Another good point for Careem is their truly excellent customer service, by the way.
They do sometimes act weirdly, once he asked me to input my destination into his phone.
Another time I paid more than was estimated in the app.
Seems like there’s something not right with their app/backend.
Hi everyone
do you all having any problem with Carrem.
now my app is not working
Yep,
….and it has totally crashed now.
I am typing this from the grubbyest taxi I have ever been in, as there was no alternative but to accept one of the very few passing by my street.
Thankfully it is now 0902 and most of the traffic has cleared off the 30, otherwise I think I’d puke if I had to sit in traffic in this.
Thanks Carem.
Q8 taxi and Q8 grand limo are from the same company.
Q8 taxi has a major flaw: it chooses the closest taxi to you and assigns him to you, but at that moment they might be doing another duty, so you need to wait until he finishes and comes.
And if you cancel and book again you will be with him again, unless you wait long enough for the locations of him and the other taxis to change.
That happened to me and I had to wait about 20 minutes, which isn’t much, but it could have been a minute or 2
I think the app was just designed by the same company
Taxis are expensive in Kuwait. Why is there no Uber like the rest of the world.
After what happenned in Lebanon today regarding the Uber driver who is suspected of murdering the English diplomat, I wonder if some countries in the region will take a second look at their business. The local taxis commubnity/union are calling for an end to Uber in Lebanon at the moment. I guess they are taking full advantage of the situation. As usual one idiot ruins it for the rest.
Uber is the best thing that has happened to Lebanon, I used to hate taking cabs due to all the haggling involved. Now I rarely even rent a car because I uber everywhere.
I feel safer using a ride hailing app such as Uber than a normal taxi. If something happens to the passenger (or if he/she goes missing) the driver can be tacked down easily. You cant do that with a normal cab.
Uber in Lebanon (like other parts of the world) is not safe since there is no background check is done on the drivers. Hence the license was not renewed in London and after the murder case in Lebanon probably it will not be renewed. I live in Beirut and use Uber at least 4 to 6 times a week and I can confirm to you that most of the drivers are reckless and the journeys were unpleasant. Allo taxi in Beirut is cheaper and has much better service and cars
I was shocked to find out how cheap Careem is in Kuwait compared to regular Taxis.
On top of that, it was Eid time, two times i got envelopes as Eid gift, the envelopes included two cards:
10 KWD Careem credit
10 KWD Talabat credit
It was really cool.
However, for various reasons i want to go back to using Uber, but i think they are mistaken for not entering the Kuwaiti market yet.
Add to that you can’t use Uber in Abu Dhabi too, and all their big miss in London?, not good.
They can’t enter the Kuwaiti market because of the laws. The only possible way is if a big fish or high MOI figure decide to bring it, then they’ll make a legal exemption.
What sort of Law is this that prevent them from entering the market?
Driving people without a taxi license or registered taxi car.
That isn’t preventing Uber. In London, Dubai and other parts of the world, Uber work with registered taxi cars and officially licensed taxi drivers.
If Careem has license, why Uber can’t?
Don’t they have like similar business models?
That’s their work around since that’s not their main business model. So in that case, they need a big fish 😀
Why? What sort of Law stops Uber from taking off in Kuwait?
My wife and I both love Q8 Limo. The service is excellent and although you could probably catch a cab for cheaper, you don’t get the clean cars and the professional service.
Citygroup is coming with the best on demand cab hailing service in kuwait very soon.
They have an experience of 15 years in providing transportation to the people of kuwait.
Wait for there service