Uber’s first home in Perth was a bowls club, from which a team of four worked to explain the benefits of the Uber app to potential driver-partners and build our operations from the ground up. Three and half years later, ridesharing has blossomed – along with the Uber team that is supporting it – and so we’re relocating from our current office in Subiaco into two new spaces.

Our team now numbers more than 40 strong in Perth, as ordering a ride or a meal at the click of a button actually requires a lot of people behind the scenes.

Our two new locations have been designed to enable the benefits that ridesharing is bringing to our city – and also make space for the Uber Eats crew and business, which is now 18 months old in Perth.

We wanted to create space that could extend to the community around us: our business partners, policymakers, industry folk and public transit experts. All are welcome to come here and connect with Uber.

A new corporate office in WA

Located in Hay Street, the site was chosen for its strategic location in the City of Perth. Here we can collaborate with our government, community and business partners and attract top talent to join our team. Designed to encourage flexibility and celebrate diversity, there are a number of different spaces that allow team members to interact or find a quiet space for reflection.

Geyer and District worked alongside Uber to create a collaborative working environment space with flexible working spaces, where technology is integrated easily into every area, maximising collaboration, productivity and the overall well being of the Uber team.

Kate Debenham, West Australia State Manager for Uber, said: “We’re so excited to be moving into this fantastic space, which not only symbolises our growth, but also Uber’s commitment and future investment in Western Australia. From our new home we look forward to further unlocking the benefits ridesharing is bringing to WA.”

Joseph Merlino, Director of District Furniture collaborated closely with David Rey, Design Manager of Geyer Architects to deliver on the brief – to create a ‘work anywhere’ space which was flexible, functional and fun. “Working with Uber on this project was right up our street. This brief provided a great opportunity to collaborate with two great brands and awesome people to create a re-invented office space, which encouraged connectivity both in the human and technology sense) and promoted a feeling of belonging and community,” said Merlino.

Rey added, “The space has a truly unique West Australian feel. It’s relaxed; all the furniture is moveable to allow for flexibility and agility and there’s a playful element, including two swing chairs in the open plan kitchen. The ground floor visibility has brought a human element to the office – and its interiors invite West Australians to come in, partner and hang out.”  

An enhanced, new Greenlight hub for Uber partners

At the same time, we are opening a purpose-built partner support centre in Osborne Park. Named a Greenlight Hub, this is designed as a ‘drop-in centre’ for new and existing partners including driver, delivery and restaurant-partners. We now have more than 6,000 WA-based driver-partners on the platform, and 1,000 restaurant-partners in Perth.

Measuring 1,600 square metres, the Perth Greenlight Hub incorporates spacious areas for support interactions with our driver-partners. Importantly, we now have comfortable waiting areas and spaces for private conversations between our support staff and driver-partners.

To make getting on the road easier, we’ve incorporated medical suites for driver-partner accreditation medicals, not to mention vast floor and warehouse space for third-party retail vendors like vehicle rental providers, telco, or vehicle inspections. This is all part of our strategy to make the Greenlight Hub a one stop shop for driver-partners.

Kate added: “We are now firmly entrenched in the city, with millions of trips completed in 2017 and more than 500,000 regular riders in Perth. Our Uber Eats team also works with restaurant and delivery-partners to facilitate thousands of meal orders each week. So we need a suitable space for them to visit us and interact with team members, and this facility is purpose-built and designed to allow this collaboration.

“We’re confident this investment in two new facilities will support continued growth in Perth as we explore options to expand into more areas of WA going into the second half of 2018.”