1 February 2016: The launch, and subsequent growth, of Uber, and particularly its uberX ride sharing service, is delivering more than $80 million in direct consumer benefits.

In a new report commissioned by Uber – Economic effects of ridesharing in Australia – Deloitte Access Economics has looked at the impacts of the new ridesharing economy on consumers, uberX driver-partners and the wider community.

Key report points include:

• Operating at current levels, uberX creates benefits for consumers of approximately $81 million per year
• Ridesharing is growing the point-to-point transport market – 61{b3f3ab30bfbc37f44c5ec52aafa3916e1bf58e388181e9dceb89dcec0575e596} of uberX rides are new to the point-to-point transport market, induced by either the differentiated service offering (36{b3f3ab30bfbc37f44c5ec52aafa3916e1bf58e388181e9dceb89dcec0575e596}) or lower prices (25{b3f3ab30bfbc37f44c5ec52aafa3916e1bf58e388181e9dceb89dcec0575e596})
• uberX services are, on average, just under 20{b3f3ab30bfbc37f44c5ec52aafa3916e1bf58e388181e9dceb89dcec0575e596} cheaper than equivalent taxi fares, including dynamic (surge) pricing.

Deloitte Access Economics Director Dr Ric Simes said: “The impact of the launch of uberX in Australia in April 2014, is playing out as one of our most compelling sharing economy stories. uberX is both transforming and growing the point to point transport market, offering an additional option for consumers.

“While uberX is only providing a relatively small proportion of services compared to the taxi industry – approximately six per cent of the total rides in the point-to-point market – it is delivering significant benefits for users. And with the likelihood that ridesharing will continue to grow in popularity, the consumer benefits we have identified may be greater.”

Other report findings

Quality and differentiation

• The technology that drives the Uber platform delivers consumer benefits that include a differentiated availability system, an integrated payment system, driver tracking, a rating system, and improved relative reliability
• The average waiting time for an uberX ride was substantially lower – 4.46 minutes, compared to 7.79 minutes for taxis.

Producer effects

• Uber provides a flexible working option for its nearly 20,000¹ driver-partners who have signed up to the platform since the launch of its ridesharing product, uberX
• Based on the level of uberX’s operations in August 2015, drivers on the uberX platform in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth will receive around $260 million in fares per year, net of the licensing fee paid to Uber.

Safety

• The Uber platform mitigates some of the safety risks associated with the point-to-point transport industry, for both drivers and riders
• Matching drivers and riders may remove anonymity, reducing an incentive to commit crime and allowing ease of reporting of any incidents
• Online cashless automatic payments systems reduce the potential for fare evasion and overcharging.

¹ According to Uber’s latest data