Ridesharing app Uber has partnered with Queensland, Australia, to offer a temporary submarine service, aka a Scuber, for the Great Barrier Reef.
From May 27 to June 18, 40 riders will be able to request the underwater experience through the Uber app—the experience will cost $2,060 for two riders (or about $1,000 each) and will include a pickup, a helicopter ride to and from the submarine location, a one-hour submarine ride, and a drop-off back at the original pickup address with Uber. All passengers have to be at least 18 years old.
The Scuber will be made available to Uber riders in the city of Gladstone on May 27 through June 3 (excluding May 29 and June 1) and to Uber riders in the Australian municipalities of Cairns, Port Douglas, or Palm Cove on June 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, and 18. Riders in Gladstone will be taken to Heron Island, and those from Cairns, Port Douglas, or Palm Cove will be taken to Agincourt Reef.
Uber riders in Gladstone, Australia, can request a submarine ride around Heron Island.
Courtest of Tourism and Events Queensland
Here’s how it will work: The Scuber booking will be made available at 7:30 a.m. each morning. Riders need to enter “Great Barrier Reef” as their destination in the Uber app to request a Scuber ride. At least one request will be accepted each day on a first-come-first-served basis, and riders must be available to travel at 9 a.m. on the day they select their Scuber ride. They will be returned back to their original pickup address by 4:30 p.m. on the day of travel. The actual submarine will be operated by Aquatica Submarines.
No diving or scuba gear required
Courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland
Tourism and Events Queensland and Uber have also launched a contest and will give the experience to one person and a companion from each of the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, New Zealand, and Australia. To enter, contestants must go to ScuberQueensland.com and explain in 25 words or less why they should experience the Great Barrier Reef with a Scuber. The idea behind the Scuber ride is to shine a spotlight on the reef and offer visitors the chance to see and experience it without the need for scuba or diving gear, according to Tourism and Events Queensland, which promotes Queensland as a tourism destination.
Uber has committed to donating the equivalent value of every Scuber ride to Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, an organization that works to protect and conserve the reef. The famed reef is a network of 1,000 islands that is home to one third of the world’s coral species and approximately 1,625 species of fish.
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