Uber launches $2,000 submarine trips to Great Barrier Reef with 'scUber'
Uber is taking its ride-sharing services to the ocean as part of a new feature that offers Australian users a close-up view of the Great Barrier Reef.
The company launched “scUber” this week, a service it billed as “the world’s first ride-share submarine experience,” for customers based in Queensland, Australia. From May 27 through June 18, would-be tourists can use the Uber app to book a trip to the giant coral reef.
For the equivalent of about $2,000 for two riders, Uber will dispatch drivers to pick up users, provide a helicopter ride to docking locations in either Heron Island or Port Douglas, give a one-hour tour of the Great Barrier Reef in a “scUber” submarine vessel and return users to their pick-up location. Uber said the underwater experience will only be available to a “limited number of riders.”
“Uber is committed to harnessing the power of technology for good,” said Susan Anderson, Uber’s regional general manager of Australia and New Zealand. “We are proud to partner with Queensland to help showcase the Reef to the world with the launch of scUber.”
Aside from scUber’s launch, the company said it would partner with Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, which seeks to preserve coral reefs around the world through the use of technology and data-based solutions.
Uber will award trips to individuals in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, New Zealand and Australia. Winners will be selected based on their submission of statements of 25 words or less explaining why they deserve the trip.
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The promotion comes weeks after Uber experienced a rocky debut to public trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Uber shares started trading below their expected price range and are roughly flat since they listed earlier this month.