The Minns Labor Government has reached an undertaking with Uber to be part of the official Transport Management Centre incident response process.
In an Australian first agreement, this will help move people when an unplanned public transport disruption occurs and will limit surge pricing for passengers in affected areas.
Uber has agreed to continue limiting surge pricing when disruption happens until alternative public transport options are in place and passenger demand reduces.
Uber and Transport NSW will also partner to put proactive measures in place to ensure faster and more efficient communications with drivers during disruptions.
This includes a proposal that will see Uber issue immediate notifications and in-app messages to drivers when things go wrong on the public transport network.
The new process first saw action last week, during the recent fire on Chalmers Street adjacent to Central Station. Uber acted immediately, monitoring and limiting surge pricing and played a constructive role in delivering transport services.
Uber has 24/7 monitoring of public transport activity and processes in place to limit surge when major or safety incidents occur. Uber's Regional Security Centre will now also have a clear point of contact in the Transport Management Centre.
This will formalise a direct and clear line of communication to deal with incidents as they occur so that both parties can reach each other quickly in emergency situations.
NSW Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said:
"On 8 March this year the Sydney Trains network broke down and came to a standstill, and passengers suffered because of a lack of co-ordination between trains and point to point operations. I knew we needed to take action to fix this."
"Passengers deserve transparency around the reasons behind the surge and passengers deserve real choices about the way they travel."
"The government's agreement with Uber will mean that when a serious incident happens on our transport network, surge pricing will be limited."
"Some surge pricing will occur to incentivise drivers who decide to operate in the affected areas. However, it will be limited so passengers don't end up copping exorbitant fares."
General Manager of Uber ANZ Dom Taylor said:
"Over the past decade, Uber has become an integral part of the NSW transport network, and as a result, we feel a deep responsibility to being a collaborative and constructive part of the solution when major disruptions occur."
"Formalising this relationship with Transport NSW marks an important milestone that will work to the benefit of NSW residents."
