An Australian-first agreement between NSW and Uber will see limit surge pricings for passengers affected by public transport disruptions.
Announcing the breakthrough, Minister for Transport, Jo Haylen said the undertaking made Uber part of the official Transport Management Centre incident response process.
“Uber has agreed to continue limiting surge pricing when disruption happens until alternative public transport options are in place and passenger demand reduces,” Ms Haylen said.
“Uber and Transport NSW will also partner to put proactive measures in place to ensure faster and more efficient communications with drivers during disruptions,” she said.
“This includes a proposal that will see Uber issue immediate notifications and in-app messages to drivers when things go wrong on the public transport network.”
Ms Haylen said the new process had already seen action, during the recent fire on Chalmers Street adjacent to Central Station.
She said Uber acted immediately, monitoring and limiting surge pricing and playing a constructive role in delivering transport services.
“The Government’s agreement with Uber will mean that when a serious incident happens on our transport network, surge pricing will be limited,” the Minister said.
“Some surge pricing will occur to incentivise drivers who decide to operate in the affected areas.
“However, it will be limited so passengers don’t end up copping exorbitant fares.”
Ms Haylen said that Uber had 24/7 monitoring of public transport activity and processes in place to limit surge when major or safety incidents occur, and its Regional Security Centre would now also have a clear point of contact in the Transport Management Centre.
