I have been in Dubai, UAE for a couple of weeks and was walking everywhere, walking is okay but you are limited to the area you are in – Dubai is not a walking city. During the day you can sweat with the heat, and if you want to go to a restaurant that is a 20 minute walk away you will arrive drenched with sweat. Taxis can get expensive, and taking a Taxi to a distant place say from Dubai Marina to Dubai mall can cost AED60+, so going there and back is like AED120. I was looking to rent a car, and as I was walking round Dubai Marina, I noticed some cars with a UDrive logo on them. Dubai Marina is touristy and I saw some tourists getting into a UDrive car.
I started getting curious about the brand and what they do, so when I got back to my hotel room, I got on the laptop and searched UDrive and clicked on their website. They offer car rentals by the minute or by the day and they are very affordable for short term rentals. These cars are parked in the area your are in, so you do not need to go someplace far to pick the car up, you just rent it on their app and walk to the car, unlock it and drive away.
You maybe thinking what about the large deposits, insurance and fuel? Here’s the thing, they cover the fuel, insurance, parking and there is NO DEPOSIT to be paid. But the thing is you can only rent the car for a maximum of two days. Once you are done park it back in the area you picked it up, confirm it on the app and you are done.
These selection of cars is wide and you can get normal saloons like a Toyota Yaris or Corolla for around AED99 per day (~ £20 per day). You can also get a Ford Mustang as the top end of their fleet for AED279 per day. Overall, it looks good and I want to try it out for the day. The reviews are mixed and there are some shocking stories on there about the cars, and the problems people have been in because of their cars, but giving it a shot looks worth it.