Uber comes to Australia

[DeKa]

Uber (the San Francisco-based private car service) started in Sydney on 19 October 2012 in a 'stealth' beta mode. I was familiar with them in the US, so thought I'd give them a go. So far, I've used them 4 times so far and have been very happy.

Pros:
- the app does the fare calculation and charges your credit card directly
- you know exactly how long the car will take to arrive at your pick up location. It is very accurate.
- you can drag the pin around on the map in the app to make sure the driver comes to exactly the right spot to pick you up.
- fares are time and distance based, with an $8 flag fall which to me is a positive.
- the cars are all Holden Statesman so far - plenty of leg room and boot space
- the pricing seems high (see table below) but so far it has not been that different to cabs for me.

Cons:
- no ability to book in advance. You have to order a car when you need one.
- airport pick ups are hard. If you book the moment you land, and drag the pin to the hire car pick up location at your selected airport, you may be lucky and time it well. If not, the timer starts running
- credit cards are billed in AUD but charged from a US based merchant account. This means I get hit with 3% foreign currency conversion fee (but is another reason to change credit cards)
- Pricing looks high .. but seems OK.

Uber Pricing (Sydney): https://www.uber.com/cities/sydney#cities

Pricing
Base Fare Start with this fare	$8.00
Per Kilometre Speed over 18km/h	$3.25
Per Minute Speed at or below 18km/h	$1.25
Minimum Fare	$15.00
Cancellation Fee	$10.00

NSW Taxi Fares: Maximum taxi fares and charges | Transport for NSW

Flag Fall	$3.50
Distance Rate	$2.14 per kilometre
Night-time Surcharge	A surcharge of 20% of the Distance Rate in respect of a journey commencing between 10 pm and 6 am daily
Booking Fee	$2.40
Waiting Time	$55.30 per hour (92.1c per minute) while vehicle speed is less than 26 km/h

Comparisons from my experience:
Home to airport in a cab: $66 + 10% CC fee = $72.60
Home to airport in Uber car: $76 (inclusive of CC fee, but not including the 3% I should not be charged if I changed credit cards)

Home to city in a cab: around $25 (typically I would pay that fare by cash but would be $27.50)
Home to city in Uber car: $33 (again, inclusive of CC fee)

I can only guess, but maybe the Uber drivers spend more time about 26km/h avoiding the 'waiting time' creep you see in cabs.

They started in Melbourne on 4 November .. any feedback from Melbourne users yet?

Has anyone else tried them yet? There is a $10 for you, $10 for me voucher I can give you if you wish to try them out - PM me for the code if you're interested.

 

[AaronBradford]

Have tried to use it on a few occasions, however wait times have been too long. I guess the fleet is very small at the moment. They responded with a $10 credit for me.

 

[penegal]

I have used Uber in the US over the past few months with mixed results. Awesome idea, but can be a tiny bit expensive at times. The automatic payment is really awesome, no fussing for the right currency, no arguing with touting drivers.

The fares are okay for short to medium trips, but longer trips can add up quickly. e.g. from my storage facility in the flooded part of Brooklyn to LGA was about $55-65. Ringing a phone-up taxi/limo company (Lincoln town car) is a fixed price of $30-$40 regardless of traffic.

The "fixed price" trips (e.g. anywhere within the beltway to IAD; Manhattan to JFK) are good, especially if departing from a 'residential' area rather than a hotel. You can request the car and sip a cup of tea inside while monitoring their progress in the app.

Not sure how the Australian context will work, but I can see the potential. Definitely better than touting limo drivers. Although for the past few years I have had a few "Silver Service" taxi drivers's numbers saved in my phone who I call when I need a ride. I know a number of colleagues in my company have done the same. It is nice to have a LWB sedan waiting outside the Park Royal, and best of all it is expense-policy compliant.


I will definitely give Uber AU a try next time I am in SYD, but best to use the 28 degrees and forgo the points by the sound of it?

 

[DeKa]

I'm now up to over a dozen trips with Uber and couldn't be happier. Many of those trips have been <10km trips where I typically would have taken a cab, or trips to the airport (I find it easier using a cab coming home).

Today I took a trip way outside Uber's red box (service area) in Sydney. It wasn't a problem, but I wasn't expecting a pick up to come back home.

I thought I'd try though, and a driver accepted the job even though he had nearly a 30min trip to come and pick me up.

The price is reasonable, I can expense if I need to, and they are always on time.

My concerns about the credit card are now not a concern. I just bill to a Citi card which has no surcharge as long as its in AUD.

I contacted Uber about billing from overseas and they said they plan to move their billing to Australia soon.

 

[penegal]

FYI - Uber has also launched in Melbourne last week (or that's when the launch party was anyway )

 

[777]

FYI - Uber has also launched in Melbourne last week (or that's when the launch party was anyway )

Were you there? You should have said hi

 

[penegal]

Were you there? You should have said hi

Almost, but I had a work 'emergency' at the last minute. I know a few others who went along.

 

[Andyc]

Used Uber for the first time tonight in Sydney. Wait was 14mins and service was perfect. No turning back here.

 

[Skyring]

Will be interesting to see how this works out. I could almost be tempted back to at least part-time work. I enjoyed being a cabbie and my regular customers were a pleasure. Hanging around on empty ranks late at night while gypsies stole my passengers was no fun.

 

[DeKa]

I am hearing that uber drivers are making good money in Sydney. At least one bought another car...

 

[haydensydney]

I've tried to use these guys on a couple of occasions - mostly late night inner Sydney CBD 'take me home' rescues during the lead up to Christmas. On all three occasions I never stepped foot in a car: the estimation of when the car would arrive was unreliable and we had no shows on all three occasions. Pretty disappointed and haven't been back for another go.

 

[moa999]

Wow. Did you report... You normally get the Drivers photo, license plat etc and they definitely track failed bookings.

Have had greatluck using them when arriving at the airport... Often a car floating around.

 

[Andyc]

Have had greatluck using them when arriving at the airport... Often a car floating around.

Once you book a car at the airport, where do you meet it? Or does the driver call you to arrange that?

 

[moa999]

Had selected the Qantas terminal position in the google position, and then immediately got a call to confirm.

 

[thewinchester]

First chance I had to use them was when in Singapore the week before last, and was quite impressed.

They're still in super-secret trial phase up there, but rocked up when estimated down to the second, super-quick, and an impressive car to boot (Mercedes Benz S Class).

Price wise, it was about 100% more expensive than a cab; however cabs are notorously hard to book in Singapore based on my expeirence. Unless you can get one from a well visited street rank or pick the right time to flag down outside your hotel, you can really be waiting a while.

 

[thewinchester]

Before I forget, if anyone is looking for a referral code to save some coin on their first Uber then PM me.

Can give you $10 off your first ride, and pass on some other coupon codes for additional savings your first ride as well.

Good thing about Uber is that you can stack up multiple promotion codes and credits for a single trip.

 

[penegal]

I can also offer a code which offers you $10 off your first ride. In the interests of disclosure, this will also net me $10.


I have used Uber in Melbourne a little bit over the past few weeks. So far so good.

I am also doing a pilot with another similar service. This one works on a "booking" basis, rather than on demand.

 

[DeKa]

I am also doing a pilot with another similar service. This one works on a "booking" basis, rather than on demand.

Is this Towncars? I've tried them .. gave up .. forgot too many bookings: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....outstanding-cheap-limo-service-syd-23884.html

I used Uber at SYD airport the other evening. I requested a car just as the aircraft arrived at the gate. I was HLO. The driver called me and asked me what airline and told me where to meet him. I was home 20 mins later.
I was pretty happy with that .. as I said earlier in my first post, I was a bit concerned about how it would work at the airport but so far so good.

 

[penegal]

I really like that Uber is on demand, because I find it hard to guess exactly when a transfer may be needed. Naturally you are relying on there being a free driver in the area, so during peak times that may be a problem.


Nope, never used towncars. The one we are trialing is called Car Pilots.

 

[DeKa]

Nope, never used towncars. The one we are trialing is called Car Pilots.

Looks good, but Uber is heaps cheaper for my airport run (by $20 on a $70 run).

Uber just needs more customers, which brings more drivers. I've seen at 'off peak' times up to a dozen free cars in Sydney now which is good for passengers, but maybe not for the drivers.