With the arrival of Uber imminent, the South West’s original ride sharing service is urging the community to support local.
hi oscar has been operating in the region for the past 12 months.
South West operations manager Brendan Robertson said it was inevitable Uber would come to the region but didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
Mr Robertson said he hoped the introduction of Uber would raise the profile of ride sharing in the Busselton community, and lead to more drivers joining the hi oscar team to meet demand.
“People are used to it in the capital cities but ride sharing is still relatively new in regional areas where people are familiar with older forms of transport,” he said.
“There is definitely a demand for it in that Busselton Dunsborough corridor if we have enough drivers.
There is a lot happening and pretty big distances to travel between wineries and venues down that way.
“In summer, we were having to send drivers from Bunbury and Capel to do jobs so the market is there.”
Uber announced earlier this month they would be launching South West services in mid-August.
An Uber spokesperson said they believed their service would complement the existing transport network in the local area.
“We know there’s a limited supply of transport options in Bunbury and Busselton and demand is particularly high late at night and on the weekends,” they said.
Mr Robertson, who is based in Bunbury, encouraged South West residents to stick with the Australian-owned company.
“We’re local whereas Uber is multinational – it’s all about being part of the community and supporting local,” he said.
