Sydneysiders are on the move again as rideshare surges

Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson | July 12, 2023

Travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels in Sydney, according to a government study, but ride-share services appears to be winning the competition for customers over taxis.

A survey by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal on Wednesday revealed more Sydneysiders were using services like Uber, Didi, Ola and Shebah in 2023 than they did in 2019.

Taxi rides almost matched 2019 levels, it found, falling just four per cent short of the target.

The findings come despite Uber’s price-spike controversy in March after which the tech giant pledged to limit surge pricing in NSW during transport outages.

The tribunal’s research surveyed travellers in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Gosford and Wyong on their use of transport services over the past six months.

Use of the private transport in Sydney exceeded pre-COVID levels with 44 per cent of Sydneysiders hailing a taxi and 55 per cent using a ride-share service.

Ride-share use in Sydney was up by four per cent on 2019 which showed people were “getting out and about again”, tribunal chief economist Mike Smart said.

“In all areas of New South Wales, ride-share use has rebounded to an even higher level in 2023 than in 2019, the year before the COVID pandemic,” he said.

“Ride-share continues to be the most popular form of point-to-point transport in Sydney.”

Taxis and ride-share services were equally popular in areas outside Sydney’s centre, according to the research, while taxis were preferred in the rest of the state.

Mr Smart said survey participants considered ride-share services to be better value and offer shorter waiting times, but rated taxi drivers better for navigation, route knowledge and driving skills.

Uber courted controversy in March when a two-hour public transport outage in Sydney saw prices spike to unprecedented levels, with commuters quoted fares of more than $200 for short trips.

The company later refunded fees charged during the incident and announced a deal with the NSW government in June to cap surge pricing during transport disruptions.

NSW transport minister Jo Haylen said while some surge pricing would occur, it would be “limited so passengers don’t end up copping exorbitant fares”.