At Melbourne airport, they invented the best possible system for taking an Uber
Those who travel a lot and use Uber, Lyft, Grab or other ridesharing apps hate only one thing: chaos at the airport. [...]
MEL
Australia
People who travel a lot and use Uber, Lyft, Grab or other ridesharing apps hate one thing: chaos at the airport. Of course there are places where you reach very high levels (e.g., Delhi), but even in the U.S. it's not a good experience in particular now that the trend in the States has taken off to move pickup areas far away, reachable by bus.
In this article:
When we arrived at Melbourne however, we have found that doing things better is possible, making life less messy for drivers and passengers is simple and using Uber in this way is a pleasure.
How UberX works at Melbourne Airport.
Chatting with the driver about the mode of booking a car, he confirmed to us that this system (in Australia) is in use only at theMelbourne Airport and I have to say that I have never found it at any other airport around the world.
If you book UberX, the cheaper version, you will not immediately see your driver, but you will have to get in line along with all the other passengers who have booked the same mode of transportation. The system is super simple, say like when we go to the deli counter at the supermarket.
There is no sequential order, so you can make a reservation even as soon as you land or after you have gone through the whole queue, in any case when your turn comes to board the first available car you will have to give the reservation code to the driver and that way he will know where you are headed.
No chaos, everyone in line
Our driver explained that this way there is no classic crush of cars looking for passengers and passengers looking for the reserved car.
All Uber drivers can get in line and pick up the first passenger they see.
If you want particular UberXL cars and SUVs, the system is the traditional one
If you book a particular car, the system is the traditional one. Two pickup zones are dedicated to these passengers, while all others are for UberXs.
Convenient to take Uber or better means to get to downtown Melbourne
Uber or cabs cost about 65/70 Australian dollars from the airport to the hotel, the bus ticket to downtown costs about 23 AUD per person, in our case being 3, the expense was almost identical with the only difference being that Uber or the cab drops you off in front of the hotel door and not at the bus stop.
Had you ever seen it at other airports? if so, write it down in the comments
