Uber launches ScUber: an underwater ride-hailing service
It was a pun waiting to happen – Uber has launched an underwater ride-hailing service named, naturally, ScUber.
ScUber is a partnership with Tourism and Events Queensland, and will take pairs of passengers for a trip to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
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You can book your trip through the regular Uber app, but unlike UberX, UberXL or UberBLACK, which are charged based on a flat fee, plus rates of charge and distance, a dip in the sub will set you back a flat fee of AU$1,500 (about $1,000, £800) per person. It takes two to dive, so that fee will be doubled for each sub.
That’s pretty steep, but you’ll be helping save the reef you’re visiting; as part of the project, Uber is donating $100,000 to Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef to help preserve the delicate coral ecosystem.
Down under
ScUber won’t be sticking around for long. You’ll be able to hail a sub from Heron Island between May 27 and June 3, and from Agincourt Reef, off the coast of Port Douglas, between June 9 and June 18.
“We’re looking forward to seeing how visitors to the Great Barrier Reef embrace this new form of movement and become advocates of the reef for years to come,” said Susan Anderson, regional general manager of Uber, Australia and New Zealand.