ScUber rideshare submarine launched

You’ve heard of Uber – now there’s ‘scUber’, the world’s first rideshare electric submarine.

Uber has partnered with Tourism and Events Queensland to showcase the Great Barrier Reef in a new way with the three-person submarine able to dive to 30 metres and offer 180-degree views.

A promotion offering a once-in-a-lifetime experience is available from May 27 to June 18 through the Uber app, subject to availability.

ScUber starts on Heron Island, off the coast of Gladstone in the Southern Great Barrier Reef region before moving north to Quicksilver Cruises’ Agincourt Reef off the coast of Port Douglas.

The launch gives tourists the chance to experience the reef by submarine for the first time, tourism industry development minister Kate Jones says.

The promotion is designed to attract thousands of tourists in key source markets like the US, Canada, United Kingdom, France and New Zealand.

She expects the campaign to generate an extra 1.4 million visitors and deliver an additional A$1.8 billion in visitor expenditure to the region over the next three years, supporting 15,700 jobs.

“During the promotion, Uber riders will have the chance to request one of the limited rides available in the three-person manned submersible and experience what the future of underwater travel could hold.”

Member for Gladstone Glenn Butcher says scUber will showcase Australia’s most valuable natural tourism asset, welcoming almost three million visitors annually, contributing $5.7 billion in economic value and supporting almost 59,000 full-time jobs.\

“Tourism operators in Queensland are developing innovative new experiences to meet evolving consumer trends and we hope the launch of scUber will stimulate demand for this new type of travel,” he says

Uber Australia and New Zealand regional general manager Susan Anderson says the company is committed to harnessing the power of technology for good.
“At Uber, we believe good things happen when people move – whether that’s by getting people from A to B in their city, or by making dreams come true experiencing the world’s greatest natural wonder, the Great Barrier Reef.”

The initiative will be supported by a global integrated marketing campaign, consumer competition and retail offerings through key distribution partners like Flight Centre in the UK, House of Travel in NZ and About Australia and Aspire Down Under in the USA.

Uber users in the key source markets of the USA, Canada, UK, France, NZ and Australia can enter a competition with a winner from each market selected to travel to Queensland and experience scUber.

Visit scUberqueensland.com for more information.