Uber to map Wellington’s streets
A new project to capture images of every street in Wellington kicks off today, with ride-sharing company Uber deploying a fleet of mapping cars.
Cars which appear to be similar to Google’s street view project, will begin capturing images, in an initiative Uber says will improve its service, and ‘‘lay the groundwork’’ for new car pool and commuter services.
Uber said a dozen cars would be involved in the project, which will last several weeks.
The company, based out of San Francisco, allows users to book rides in private hire cars on their mobile phones, typically at a lower cost to regular taxis.
It has become a by-word for industry disruption (Uber claims it has 300,000 active users in New Zealand) but is highly controversial because it openly flouts New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) regulations.
While Uber already uses a mapping system, Manik Gupta, the company’s head of maps, said it did not have all of the information it wanted.
‘‘Mapping for Uber purposes requires a more nuanced dataset than what exists today,’’ Gupta said.
‘‘For example, we don’t need to know what ocean topography looks like, but we do need to be able to understand ideal pick-up and drop-off locations outside a building.’’
Uber said the images it captured in the mapping project would not be made available to the public in any form. However, they would make it easier to identify ‘‘the best routes for riders and drivers, and identify street segments that are better suited for pick-ups and drop-offs’’.
Gupta said the data would also help the company provide a more accurate estimated time of arrival for users. Already the company has deployed mapping cars in Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia.
Uber launched in New Zealand just over three years ago, and operates in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
It claims to have more than 4000 drivers which complete at least one ride every 28 days, although the New Zealand Taxi Federation said the impact the service was having on its members was less than expected.