Ride-sharing service UberX will launch in Adelaide today (Friday May 13) and will offer passengers free rides.
Free uberX Rides in Adelaide until Further Notice
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tightarse on 13/05/2016 - 08:44 newsroom.uber.com (1409 clicks)
Last edited 13/05/2016 - 13:03 by 2 other users
Last edited 13/05/2016 - 13:03 by 2 other users
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Um…. good deal? :o
Free rides… Yes good deal
free moustache rides for all!
What about QLD!
Already in QLD
Uber do this to cement themselves swiftly into a new marketplace
It starts at midday today.
SA government not making it easy for Uber to get into the Market Place.
Uber will launch whether they like it or not
Isn't it nice to see multinationals allowed to break the law and not go to jail like a cictizen of Australia would.
Yep, laws that created an anti-competitive industry through lobbyists and is so bad that despite terrible service and quality it took a powerful overseas company with strong grassroots support to break through the wall. Now taxi's can respond and improve service and quality and easily defeat Uber, or just whinge and continue lobbying.
Take a guess what path they take.
I thought they were legal in every state except The People's Republic of Victoria(?)
@McFly: I think in most cases they are legal where the driver holds a taxi license. However most drivers don't. There are a few exceptions like the ACT where it is legal.
@Peace Maker: 100%. Taxis in Perth yesterday were on strike and hooted their horns and drove slowly around the city today… Guess who people turned to, to get A to B..
@Peace Maker: I totally agree with most of what you say. I have no vested interest in this conversation other than defending what is fair.
Taxi owners paid a huge fee to get a taxi license. From the SMH@@,
"This year, the transfer value of a taxi licence in Sydney dropped to an average $375,000, the lowest level since 2008. Licence values reached a high of about $425,000 in 2011."If I paid that much for a license and Uber came in and didn't want to play ball, i'd be furious. I'd do more than whinge if I was one of these people.
On a personal level, I'm going to use Uber X because it's much cheaper than a taxi. But, I really do feel for the people that paid for a taxi license.
@@ I apologise about the lack of quality of the source of my quote. It's really hard to find an unbiased, unprejudiced media source in Australia these days. My confidence in supposed facts from most Australian media is very low, but these figures are similar to what a taxi driver told me a few years ago.
@DeWalt: Yep, I agree with some of your statements too. I have family friends with taxi licences. The problem is the industry and drivers. The licence owners need to have the industry implement the standards and rating system that Uber have bought in. It seems so obvious a fix, but they just don't get it or couldn't be bothered.
That's the thing - licenses became an investment vehicle rather than their original purpose of being able to put cars on the road.
While I do feel sorry for owner/drivers who have a single license, those who purchase them as an investment I have no sympathy for. Shares go down, sometimes really fast. Housing goes down. Government change regulations. All investments have a risk and a competitor in a once monopoly market is one of them.
@DeWalt: what the media neglect to mention, is that taxi licences were sold for something like $10,000 many years ago. Also, companies like certain banks, like to 'invest' in new plate releases, pushing the market value up due to withholding supply. At least this is the case in NSW. Using a taxi licence as a make money fast plan, is a high risk investment, in my view. It seems that the NSW gov is going to pay out taxi plate holders, a compensation for their investment loss. It's something you'd expect in Italy to be honest, with the Mafia.
Yep. Then they exploit their drivers - all for the benefit of the 'consumer'. Regulations there for a reason but should be applied intelligently.
I don't agree with SA Gov move to ban it, but I don't agree with Uber's business practices either.
Uber will launch whether they like it or not
That was't the case a while ago… They threatened not to launch at all http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-12/taxi-compensation-pack…
It's a political tactic. They've done this many times before.
So if I pay my buddy to take me to the airport, I'm breaking the law?
Uber is just doing that, the only difference is that my driver isn't my buddy, but a complete random stranger.
Uber is doing way more than that…. Don't kid yourself.
A buddy paying you to take them to the airport isn't a issue.
But some stranger 'booking' you and you picking them up, is a totally different issue.
Uber is a taxi service. Deal with it people.
Taxi driver spotted.
take a ride from adelaide to QLD?
I need to call my buddy in adelaide to come to brisbane and pick me up now!
I wonder why our taxi industry is so much more precious than other states?
Putting weekend tariffs on the Uber to prop up the taxi industry competitiveness seemed to simply be a piecemeal offered by SA gov to quell the aggrieved until Uber push back, as they have already done.
Should we arrange an Ozbargain meetup then?
Thanks TA
I wish I could pay nothing for Uber rides!
@IWTF: Any Mel~Adl flight for this afternoon?! :D
Just buy a one-way flight, and get an uber back.
I'd love to know what this will cost Uber as a raw cash figure. I wonder what their war chest is for this sort of launch exercise.
It will be a minor deduction from the tax money they get away with.
Maccas run?
"Until further notice"? Wonder if it's worth risking a free trip to work if I might have to pay to come back home again.
I'll be driving in this. I'm not indian (boring white bread, sorry to be the exception) and driving a volkwagen
So how much did you go out of pocket for the setup ?
@unifex: you just need a car that is in good condition and insured. And it needs to pass the uber checkup. No fees other than fixing your car for any scratches and damages.
Free ride to the footy tonight!
Holy shyte, Imagine the scores of people requesting an uberX after the AFL game at Adelaide Oval tonight?!
Damn, If I was the head of the uberX marketing team, I'd be organising a group of Geelong fans a trip back to Geelong (with video footage/selfies etc). The cost would be decent, but the media coverage (especially in Vic where uber are pressuring the State Govt) would be HUGE and be an enormous positive PR exercise for uber.
Is there a way to calculate a fare via the app?
Yes
PredictionThanks - I eventually worked it out - although having just signed up - it's only giving me access to Uber Black and price is more than a taxi from the airport. Might have to find promo code for free first ride
Wait until midday when it launches.
@matt_will_fix_it: Definitely will wait till midday - but my trip won't be until the 28th - can only hope it will be free then
airports = uber black only.
@blehgg: Oh that sucks, but good to know - Thanks, however I could go for a short walk to Sir DB Drive and arrange from there.
However will try a free ride home tonight if free rides still are on approx 530pm@blehgg: In case you were like me and living under a rock, some states won't allow Uber X to pick people up from an airport. You have to be a certain distance away from the airport before you can be picked up.
Or, you could be a cheapskate like me and use the 400 bus from Terminal 3 at Sydney airport :)
This is what daffodil daydream tastes like..
I kind of feel sorry for taxi drivers but in some ways I don't. Now they know what it's like to get your job outsourced to India for cheaper, except it's been outsourced to the guy next door for cheaper. The equivalent is happening to everyone, not just them. You'd never know it though, cabbies simply have more visible ways to protest.
Virtually every taxi driver in Adelaide on a Friday or Saturday night is from India or Pakistan. I bet it's a weird feeling for those drivers to get their job outsourced to someone even cheaper. Sometimes I feel sorry for the drivers (who rent the taxis and pay for fuel) when they're queued 30 taxis deep on a Tuesday night on North Terrace and clearly will be there for hours… possibly to earn $10 on a short fare.
Had an uber ride for the first time couple of weeks ago. Much easier than a taxi with the app. Much cheaper and better service - free bottled water and mints!!
I hope the water was mount franklin!!
LOLOLOL Hahahahaha. He would have protested and halted the ride if it wasn't!
Ok this settles my decision…. Going to Adelaide for holiday!
Just got to book accommodation and Al good..oh wait what to see there beside vineyards?
World class stadium, cheap Tetrahydrocannabinol, beaches, a city designed on the grid system surrounded by mass parklands and Cafe De Vili's.
Tetrahydro what ?
THC. Now available at Cafe de Vili's.
National Motor Museum, Glenelg, Panda's at the Zoo, Hahndorf, Cafe de Villi's :)
Well its 8 minutes past midday and its not active yet.
actually is it
Can I book a (free) ride from Hindmarsh Sq to the Railway Station (500m)?
yes, but it will be much quicker to walk ( demand will be high)
the fare is still not $0 for me. Do i need to enter a coupon code?
I think they just waive the fee, but it still shows the price in fare estimate
How long is the average wait for an UberX to respond to a request? I've been waiting about 15minutes now and it doesn't look like there's any available :( Guess I'll have to catch the tram!
I tried today at 1pm and had the same issue (tried for about 15-20mins; from cbd), I assume demand is very high being free and all.
Yeah figure there's a lot of demand but not much supply haha
So…. Opening the app - can only see one car within 3 or 4kms of the CBD… Does that mean only one car is available?
Has anyone actually used it today yet?
I heard that map is not accurate…
You can get a time estimate of how long you will wait for the uber.
There is usually more than what is showing on the map
If I buy an apartment for $500,000, and 10 years later my suburb is re-developed and thousands more apartments are built, causing my property to drop in value to $350,000, should I be allowed to complain?
If I invest $20,000 on the stock market, and it crashes and I lose the lot, can I complain about that too?
A taxi license plate is an investment, just like any other investment. It is afforded no more security that other investments. That's life. Investments rise. Investments fall.
Amen brother!
Why are the new apartments so cheap and caused your property to drop in value so much? Were they built legally and all fees were paid for? Or did a group of people just show with cement and built them?
I'm sure you would be unhappy if they cut corners to make their property cheaper. In that case, you do have the right to complain.
It's called supply and demand.
That did not answer any of my questions.
Not necessarily disagreeing with you or defending taxi drivers but the other side of the argument is that they were investing in a regulated industry. The law stated that if they wanted to operate as a taxi they needed to pay for a taxi license.
They paid the government exorbitant amounts of money to be able to enter an industry legally then Uber enables others to enter the industry illegally without the same overheads. Rather than enforce the laws the laws were changed or ignored.
I think the government is at fault for creating a monopoly in the first place. If you paid for exclusive rights to something then someone else took it for free and were allowed to do so, wouldn't you feel hard done by?
Here in Adelaide for the weekend. This would be perfect
Except that there are no UberX available lol
Yeah not available
This is a terrible deal then. What's the point of this?
Do you know that UberX has now started in Adelaide? Would you have known if it wasn't free thus not posted on here? Well, that is the point. It wasn't actually because Uber like you enough to give you free rides.
Taxi drivers hate this deal.
They might neg the deal
Too much protection of Taxi drivers. Over the years the industry has turned to monopoly lack of service, refusal of pick ups, taking you to long route etc
They were thinking no competition.
Some people bought the taxi licenses thinking it's a ongoing endless income haha Uber can smash them all. It's the way of future
Give consumer a choice and see how much people switch.
I like how they just protest and complain about uber instead of revamping their service to compete with uber.
They are just looking for an easy quickfixYes. Everytime they stop working to protest the uber drivers would be flat-out working
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http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-13/uber-x-launches-in-… For a non-subscriber-to-the-advertiser article