Uber drives into town next month
Hamilton is welcoming Uber as it begins hiring drivers for the new year.
The global ride-share company is ramping up for a January 25 launch, just in time for the New Zealand World Sevens Series.
Over 100 prospective drivers attended a ‘‘town-hall’’ – corporate parlance for a meeting – held at Distinction Hotel, Te Rapa, on Monday night.
Many were attracted by the promise of additional income, but pricing information was noticeably absent in a presentation centred on legal requirements and the ‘‘magic’’ of Uber.
Uber prospect Diane Worfolk, 55, said she was disappointed there was no information about pricing structure.
‘‘It’s like a chicken and egg situation … you need more information before you can invest in something.’’
Currently between jobs, Uber appealed because she has a car but no income. The concept was brilliant, she said.
Support worker Margaret, 57, who asked not to be further identified as she had lied to her employer to attend the meeting, said she was there looking for extra income.
She guessed she would drive for Uber whenever she could outside of her current job, eight-hours sleep and ‘‘three hours to myself’’.
‘‘If the work was there I would give up the other job. I’m really good at caregiving but support workers are undervalued.’’
Taxi driver Sunil Kumar and four colleagues from Yellow Cabs were in high spirits and said they were happy to see Uber coming.
Kumar often works for six hours at a time without picking up a customer, and said the constant availability of customers through the app would be a huge help.
‘‘We are paying a levy to someone right now.
‘‘For Uber we just pay their commission.’’
But independent taxi driver Steve Jones said the CBD already lacks space for the drivers needed for the weekend bar crowd, which makes up 90 per cent of his business.
‘‘We’ve got so many people in the bars and I already have got people crawling through my windows.’’
Uber New Zealand general manager Richard Menzies said Hamilton’s enthusiasm for the service was already proven, with 100,000 people from 74 countries opening the app within the city in recent years.
Currently available in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Uber uses geo-location to connect drivers with passengers through a smartphone app. Drivers are referred to as ‘‘driver partners’’ and are not formally employed by the company. All payment is done through credit card details entered into the app, and Uber takes a 25 per cent cut.
To drive for Uber you must be over 21 years old; have a car less than 10 years old that passes a certification of fitness, slightly more stringent than a standard warrant; and, third party insurance.
If anything expires, access to the driver app is cut.
Uber drivers set their own hours and frequently work on an informal basis.
‘‘Just under 40 per cent of our driver-partners drive less than 10 hours a week, so they may work during the week and drive with Uber to help pay their mortgage.
‘‘Which I think is an exciting dynamic that I’m excited to bring to Hamilton,’’ Menzies said. Uber mapped Hamilton roads in July this year but is yet to determine the price of the service.
Drivers will be informed prior to launch, Menzies said.
‘‘We expect Hamilton demand to have a different pattern to [other cities] . . . you’re probably going to have more of a weighting of trips in the weekend and mornings and evenings, versus the middle of the day.’’
Hamilton Airport chief executive Mark Morgan said initial discussions with Uber had been positive.
‘‘We welcome any kind of transport initiatives that supports our customers.
‘‘Equally, we would see [Uber] operating on the airport on good commercial terms.’’
Hamilton Mayor Andrew King said residents and visitors would appreciate the competition Uber brought to the taxi industry.
‘‘I am conscious that Uber are at the forefront of future technologies such as driverless cars, and it is very exciting to see that Hamilton can now be part of the Uber phenonmenon.’’
King said he was grateful for the traditional taxi service, which would still play an important role alongside Uber.