Uber is without a doubt one of the most used apps on my phone and a service I use on an extremely regular basis. I use it in every country that it’s legal in and it’s a company that I really enjoy and recommend people to use.

Not only is it extremely simple to use, you also earn SPG points (even if you’re not staying at an SPG property) which is a really nice benefit.

In Australia, Uber has massively expanded in the last few years and is now found in Adelaide, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Cairns, Canberra, Geelong, Gold Coast, Hobart, Melbourne, Mornington Peninsular, Newcastle, Perth, Sunshine Coast, Sydney, Toowoomba, Townsville, and Wollongong.

Uber Black

Uber hasn’t always had an easy time getting onto the road in Australia. For months, the Australian Taxi counsel and even the government tried to block them being in certain states. This angered large amounts of people and petitions had to be signed to show support. Finally, it was legalised and it’s grown very well.

But with all things, there are changes and it appears Uber will be making some changes to costs of rides and minimum fares starting next month.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the following changes: There will be a 55c booking fee for all rides, the minimum fare in Sydney will rise by a dollar to $9, and in Brisbane and Melbourne it will be raised from $6 to $7.50. This will all happen from June 9th.

So why are these changes being implemented?

The 55c booking fee – The new booking fee is for operating costs from what Uber have said. It’s said that 50c will go to Uber and 5c will go to the tax office.

Minimum fare booking – The minimum fare changes are being raised for the Uber drivers themselves. This will give the drivers a slightly larger profit as many drivers were getting average or below income. I for one fully agree and think this should have been added sooner. 90% of the drivers I’ve had (200+ a year) were fantastic and do a brilliant job.

What are your thoughts on the changes in pricing?