Uber and Under: Uber Users can Book a Submarine Ride in Queensland
For a limited time, Uber riders can order up a share economy submersible and toodle around the Great Barrier Reef
Uber and Tourism Queensland in Australia are partnering up to offer underwater Uber rides around the Great Barrier Reef in an initiative called scUber. The world’s first rideshare submarine experience starts, Monday, May 27 and runs through June 9.
The scUber experience will showcase the world’s largest living structure as a biodiverse playground, rich in marine life and offering remarkable underwater experiences. At the same time, it will support the ongoing protection and conservation of the world’s largest coral reef system through Uber’s partnership with Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef.
The Reef is the world’s largest and longest coral reef system and is home to 600 different types of coral (one third of the world’s coral species), approximately 1,625 species of fish and more than 1,000 islands. Tourism to the Great Barrier Reef is significant, with almost three million tourists visiting the World Heritage Area every year. Around 80 per cent of all tourism activity occurs within 7 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef marine park.
Scubers can take a maximum of three people and dive a depth of 30 meters or just under one hundred feet. Riders experience 180-degree views of the rarefied landscape and get to stay dry through it all, no tanks, no wet suites, no snorkel gear.
All that is needed is access to an Uber app and the booking begins. However, it does not come cheap.
The scUber experience will cost around $2,000 for two riders and includes:
● Pickup from guest location with the Uber app;
● Return scenic helicopter ride to either Heron Island (for riders requesting from Gladstone) or the Quicksilver Cruises pontoon off the coast of Port Douglas (for riders requesting from Cairns, Port Douglas and Palm Cove);
● One-hour ride in a scUber submarine;
● Return trip back to original pickup address with Uber.
There is a minimum cost of $3,000 AUD or $2,067 USD per ride, single or double.
Travelers in the area can try to reserve space each morning starting at 7:30 am, when a limited number of trips are released each day.
More information: https://scuberqueensland.com
