Uber’s happy landings Dedicated hire bays at airport
UBER has marked its territory in one of Townsville Taxis’ most fiercely protected patches — the airport.
Townsville Airport this week followed Brisbane’s lead in dedicating an “Uber zone”, separating the ride- sharing service from taxis and the public to offer a wait area for local UberX drivers.
However, Townsville Taxis maintains it has the prime pick up spot — at the airport’s arrivals exit, which is under cover and protected by a concrete barrier with a nearby holding bay that can queue up to 40 cabs at a time.
Under the deal negotiated between Townsville Airport and Uber, the ride- sharing service is allowed the use of four “UBER” marked parking bays in the terminal’s rental car park — 25m away from the arrivals exit. UberX passengers will pay a $ 3 airport pick- up fee as part of their fare, which is estimated to cost between $ 13 and $ 17 for a ride to the CBD with a few minutes wait time.
Taxi passengers pay a similar $ 3 airport exit levy to be taken to the CBD for an estimated fare of $ 23 — with no wait times.
Uber, which launched in Townsville on March 16, says Fare to the CBD, , dependingp g on traffic,, with a few minutes wait time. However, UberX can inflate pricesp at busy times, , which the State Government has legalised as part of new ride- sharing services laws. Fare includes the $ 3 airport pick up fee. Fare to the CBD, depending on traffic conditions, with no wait times. Taxis cannot increase prices at busier times due to State Government restrictions against price gouging in the industry. Fare includes the $ 3 airport exit levy. the designated pick- up area would be appreciated by visitors. They said people from more than 50 countries had searched its app for a ride in Townsville.
“We know there is demand from international visitors and we’ve worked closely with Townsville Airport to ensure our technology makes ground connections as simple as possible,” Uber general manager Andrew Golden said.
But Townsville Taxis general manager Angela Rheeders said the cab company could offer a faster service.
“Our fares are also fairly fixed because of State Government regulations against price gouging in the taxi industry. But ride sharing services are legally able to surge prices when demand is higher, and we’ve heard of passengers copping from four times the usual fare,” Ms Rheeders said.
Townsville Airport chief operating officer Kevin Gill said the airport supported UberX to give passengers more choice.
James Cook University marine biology student Jake Sherry, 21, took an Uber airport transfer this week.
“It can be hard to spot your unmarked Uber in the public pick- up and drop- off areas at airports, so having a waiting area is awesome,” he said.
Mr Sherry was picked up by 52- year- old Uber driver Joanne Krushka, a Deeragun mother- of- three who has worked for three to five hours almost every day this week.
“I’ve had about 35 passengers, quite a few of those airport jobs with out- of- towners who use Uber all the time and locals under 30 who embrace the technology,” she said.