One year on, Uber is a huge success in Newcastle

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Ride-sharing company Uber has now been successfully operating in Newcastle for a year.

The company says 50, 000 locals have requested rides from around 500 drivers throughout the city within the 12 months since it launched in the area.

The Sydney Junction Hotel in Hamilton is the most popular pick up spot, followed by the Honeysuckle Hotel and the Cambridge Hotel.

Uber trips in Newcastle hit their peak times at 11pm on Fridays and especially Saturdays, and drop off on Wednesday at around 10pm.

To celebrate its first year in Newcastle, the company has announced it will roll out Uber mapping cars throughout the city to collect and record data.

The data will be used to build Uber's databases for mapping out street segments best suited for pick-ups and drop-off's.

UberWAV to be Trialled in Newcastle

BY GEORGIA LUPTON

Newcastle has been selected as the Australian trial site for ride-sharing company, Uber's new service, UberWAV.

The service will provide those with disabilities the opportunity to ride with Uber in wheelchair accessible vehicles.

Newcastle was chosen for the trial due to its large population of passengers requiring accessible transport options. 

Vehicles fitted out with wheelchair lifts can be requested by passengers on the Uber smartphone app and are available for the same fare as a regular UberX ride.

UberX rides are usually 30% cheaper than taxis outside of busy trading times.

A lucky Mayfield woman was the first to test out the UberWAV service in Australia.

Image Courtesy: uber.com