Uber Australia

[OnMyWay]

I just finished putting all my Australia trip expenses into Microsoft money and was reviewing, so I thought I would share this.

Overall I was very happy using Uber.  The mistake I make is seeing everything in AUD but thinking USD.  Not just for Uber, but everything.  Now I have it all in USD and it all looks very reasonable.  Keep in mind there were 5 of us, so we always had to use the more expensive Uber XL.

The only ride I was not happy with was the first one, SYD airport to our CBD AirBnb.  The quote was ~60 AUD and the lazy driver made it over 80 AUD.  We met him when he drove into the waiting area and he charged 6 AUD waiting fee, which I guess was for the time I showed him how to load the bags so they would fit and loaded them while he watched!

No tip for him but I did give a small tip for 4 of 8 rides that I was very happy with.  Uber offers up a suggested tip or 1 or 3 or 5 or other amount tip.  Our most expensive ride was from our Brisbane AirBnb to Surfer's Paradise.  I was really worried that it was going to cost me a bundle.  I think the estimate was ~150 AUD and then we got caught in a 1 hour traffic jam.  I thought it might be over 300 AUD but it came out to 225 AUD, about 158 USD.  For short rides, they were all reasonable, 10-20 AUD for Uber XL.

One of the problems was getting the Uber XL vehicle that we need.  Most are 7 seater SUVs, which we used and barely could fit the luggage.  KIA Carnival was the best but hard to find.  In Melbourne, we added an extra checked bag.  We got a ride to the Melbourne airport in two family cars, headed to Canberra,  At Canberra airport, I kept cancelling Uber and trying to rebook, but kept getting 7 seater SUVs that are not big enough..  They definitely would not hold us with the extra bag.  The strange thing too is that the Uber estimated price was jumping around.  First 97 then 143, then 97, then 143, etc.  I quickly cancelled the high prices.

Inside the garage, I notice a Kia Carnival with the doors open, waiting.  I asked the driver if he was an Uber driver, and he kind of mumbled "kinda" or something like that.  I told him we needed a large vehicle like his, and he said how much does Uber charge  I told him 90-100 and he said that is too much.  Turns out he works for a company that shuttles airline crews from airport to hotels.  He said he had a crew coming but could return for us and take to Dunlop.  Me, How Much?  $60 or whatever you want!  Cool!  So a Virgin crew showed up and loaded up, and true to his word, he was back in 20 minutes.  Very nice guy!  Loaded us up and off we went.  Got his number and he said he might be able to take us from Dunlop to Murrays on Saturday if had no crew bookings.  Called him the night before, and he was able to accommodate us on Saturday.

So he earned a few bucks on the side, we got a cheap price, and everybody was happy!

 

 

 

[Jollygoodfellow]

16 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

No tip for him but I did give a small tip for 4 of 8 rides that I was very happy with.  Uber offers up a suggested tip or 1 or 3 or 5 or other amount tip.

You do know your in Australia dont you? Bet no Australians gave a tip including me. 

[OnMyWay]

2 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

You do know your in Australia dont you? Bet no Australians gave a tip including me. 

I had a topic on that so I knew what to expect.

[Jollygoodfellow]

5 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I had a topic on that so I knew what to expect.

So its a mindset thing that tips are worldwide because of how it is in certain countries and no way to change that thinking    Anyway give away as much money as you want but hopefully some will understand that In Australia people do not work for tips as they receive compensation in the form of salary at the reasonable and set rate depending on the job, unlike some countries. 

Hope you enjoy your time down under. 

[BrettGC]

Uber can be great price-wise, and it can be awful.  They charge based on availability.  I remember returning to Cairns on my last trip before I moved here and the flight arrived just prior to evening peak hour so not a lot of Ubers were available.  When I checked the app they wanted $120AUD to get me home, about a 24 min drive.  When I checked the taxi app, they estimated $40-$50AUD.  I caught a taxi.  When it's quite, Uber is about 20% cheaper than taxis, but when busy the sky is the limit for price.  I had a mate that used to drive for Uber on his days off.  He drove one new year's eve on the Gold Coast.  The ride was about 45mins at night From Broadbeach to Logan, he made 1.5kAUD for the trip and funnily enough called it a night.  Admittedly that was back in Uber's infancy in Australia pre-regulation, but it does demonstrate  the concept of availability pricing or what Uber calls "The Surge".  

On the extra charges etc, it's what I like about Grab in PI, it's a set price and you pay what you're quoted in the app.  

[OnMyWay]

7 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

So its a mindset thing that tips are worldwide because of how it is in certain countries and no way to change that thinking    Anyway give away as much money as you want but hopefully some will understand that In Australia people do not work for tips as they receive compensation in the form of salary at the reasonable and set rate depending on the job, unlike some countries. 

Hope you enjoy your time down under. 

You need to talk to Uber Australia  They have a popup for tipping.  $1 (70 cents USD), $3 ($2.10 USD) or $5 (3.5 USD) or other.  I let myself be suckered by it because I have a soft heart.  It goes direct to my CC, no cash involved.  Those are the only tips I gave and they were for exceptional service.

This highest tip I gave was for the 158 USD ride from Brisbane to Surfer's Paradise with 1 hour stuck in traffic.  He was a jovial African guy who was very helpful and patient with my kids when driving us.  Took care of everything.  Tried to entertain the kids for 2.5 hours on the 1.5 hour trip. etc.  3.5 / 158 = 2.2% tip.

So my total tips in AU were 12 AUD.

[OnMyWay]

7 hours ago, BrettGC said:

Uber can be great price-wise, and it can be awful.  They charge based on availability.  I remember returning to Cairns on my last trip before I moved here and the flight arrived just prior to evening peak hour so not a lot of Ubers were available.  When I checked the app they wanted $120AUD to get me home, about a 24 min drive.  When I checked the taxi app, they estimated $40-$50AUD. 

Yes, I wish I would have considered taxis more, but a regular taxi can't take all 5 of us, so I would need two.  I know the 13cabs and Maxitaxi have big ones, but Uber was so easy to use after the first ride.

As I mentioned, yes, you have to and can play with the rates.  At Canberra airport, midday, the app would go back and forth from 97 to 143.  In seconds.  

[Colsie]

Here in Perth (Western Australia)... Yes, I'm back here and lovin it.

A heck of alot of people use Didi as its usually a bit cheaper than Uber. Also, most driver's are available on DiDi because they sacrifice a much smaller percentage of the fare, than they would with Uber. Most of the drivers I spoke to used DiDi, Ola and Uber at the same time. But only took Uber customers if they couldn't get a DiDi or Ola client. 

With DiDi there is no adjustment of the quoted fair and no begging for additional money (tip) 

[GeoffH]

Never heard of DiDi... is it WA exclusive?

[BrettGC]

2 hours ago, GeoffH said:

Never heard of DiDi... is it WA exclusive?

Same, but I'd never heard of "Ride" or "Lyft" until I moved to Cairns.  They seem to be sprouting up everywhere.