International tourists arriving in Cairns will be able to open the Uber app and order a car from Thursday when the ride-sharing service expands into four new regional cities.
People from 55 countries have opened the Uber app in Cairns but to date have been unable to use the service because it has not been available, Uber's head of Australia and New Zealand operations, Mike Abbott, told The Australian Financial Review.
"These would be people that use Uber at home or when they're travelling," he said.
Uber, which has about 58,000 drivers nationally, will start services in Wollongong, Townsville and the Hunter Valley as well as Cairns on March 16, adding to its existing regional services in Newcastle, Byron Bay, Geelong, Toowoomba, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.
The ride-share group has targeted expansion in NSW and Queensland because it is more affordable for drivers to comply with state regulations, although Queensland is considering introducing a new annual licence fee of $237.26.
Uber believes there is demand for its services in regional Western Australian towns such as Geraldton and Albany but says drivers on the west coast are put off by the high costs of signing up. WA's new Labor government had "a big opportunity" to make it easier and cheaper for people to access the flexible work Uber provides, Mr Abbott said.
High cost
The cost to start operating a vehicle in WA with less than eight seats is $1102. This includes an application fee, commercial medical assessment, national police clearance, traffic infringements and convictions record, compulsory third-party insurance, a light vehicle inspection fee and an annual licence fee of $272. Uber says it takes weeks for drivers to register vehicles.
In NSW, the cost to become an accredited ride-share driver for people under 60 is under $150, including driver and vehicle safety checks and accreditations, and drivers can be on the road within days.
Although Uber has been operating in Geelong for a year, Victoria's plans to introduce a $2 levy on trips by ride-share groups could make it "difficult" to expand services to other regional cities in the state due to uncertainty over the final outcome of the proposed legislation , Mr Abbott said.
Uber is in the process of screening drivers for its four new regions and expects around 100 drivers in each market to sign up.
"In all these four centres, unemployment is higher than the state averages and there will be people looking for flexible work," Mr Abbott said, adding Uber helped plug "gaps" in public transport and was being approached more frequently by local councils.
Uber's troubles in the United States, where the company is now searching for a chief operating officer after chief executive Travis Kalanick admitted he needed "leadership help" to help tackle sexual harassment claims against the company and other issues, have not had a negative impact on its Australian business, Mr Abbott said.
