For a number of years, we’ve been exploring how taxis and Uber can work together in cities around the world to offer riders an even greater range of transportation choices. As part of this effort, last year we welcomed taxis onto our platform in Victoria, giving local riders the option to book a taxi in the Uber app.

This morning, we communicated to Melbourne-based drivers our plans to launch a small-scale program to test a hailable service offering with Uber. Called Uber Taxi, this service will allow riders to flag down an Uber-supported taxi on the street or find one in a traditional cab rank. These vehicles will be visibly branded as Uber Taxis, will operate on metered fares for unbooked trips, and passengers will be able to pay for their trip using cash or a credit card. Uber Taxi will be subject to the same requirements and regulations as other traditional taxi services.

As a first step, today Uber is inviting a small pool of eligible Melbourne-based drivers to sign up as an Uber Taxi driver; details of how to do so can be found on Uber’s Driver Blog. We’ll be communicating directly with Melbourne riders as the trial gets up and running.

Why Uber Taxi?

Victorian taxi drivers have told us they enjoy the additional demand for trips provided via Uber since taxis came onto our platform last year. With Uber Taxi, drivers can access even more earnings opportunities with the ability to accept rank and street hail trips, giving them more options to earn between booked trips.

We also know that riders benefit from more choice when it comes to how they get around town. With Uber Taxi, Melburnians will be able to catch a ride directly from the street and choose to pay via a metered rate if they’d like. Uber Taxi is partnering with leading taxi tech provider Net-Cabs who supplies an integrated online metering, payment and security camera solution for taxi vehicles. Net-Cabs technology is government approved and ensures the accuracy of every fare whilst boosting driver and passenger safety.

Throughout this test program, we expect we will learn a lot about customer experiences and behaviour, which we will then apply to adapting and optimising the product as it grows.