Car pooling has never really taken off in Australia. Watching the daily commute we see an extraordinary procession of cars with just a single driver occupying the space that would seat five people. In most cases where a driver does share and offer a lift it involves a neighbour or a friend.
Uber is about to launch a scheme which is similar to what is called " Uber Pool Express " in the United States. It will only be available in the inner area of Sydney and that will range between Bondi and Leichhardt and Sydney Harbour and Mascot to concentrate on the pool of people moving to jobs in the centre of the city.
The attraction is lowering the cost of travel. The more people sharing the car, the cheaper the journey and Uber thinks that will overcome the distaste for sharing a ride with a stranger. Uber is a really a cab company and this is organized ride sharing to further lower the cost of what is normally a single person hiring a cab ride.
The very nature of the daily commute means that twice a day a vast mass of people are moving in the same direction and sharing a cab would be preferable to squeezing onto the public transport system, but it does involve a little walking and waiting.
Uber will match people grouped in a small geographical area who want to travel to a similar city destination at a similar time of day.. They will be directed to congregate at a " dynamic spot " nearby where the car will pick them up. If four people share the journey instead of a single passenger hiring that cab then obviously the fare is shared four ways and each makes a significant saving.
The only downside is that it robs public transport of the numbers that make it viable and increases the number of cars competing for space on inner city streets. Make or break will probably depend on the reliability factor.
Qantas is toying with the idea of adding a new travel class to the existing options of " First Class ", " Business Class " and " Tourist Class " by inaugurating a new option which some will certainly dub " Cattle Class ".
The airplane industry is forever building planes that go faster and travel longer distances without a refuelling stop. The Boeing " Dreamliner " can now travel from Australia to London or New York without a break and perhaps we may soon be offered a new class of seating in the cargo hold.
The cost of travel is inevitably geared to luxury. The more individual space and pampering, the higher the price. Airline thinking is considering that an even lower fare that excludes windows to admire the view and seats similar to train like berths might be attractive to the very price conscious traveller.
That concept was introduced by the ship industry where a single overnight journey was involved. Instead of a cabin, travellers were offered a reclining aircraft style seat in a common area with dimmed lights for a much lower fare. It is envisaged that there would be room for passengers to walk around and get exercise in the cargo hold of planes and food would be available in snack form, at the travellers expense.
This thinking weighs the shorter duration of direct flights with passenger expectations. Aircraft seating - and travel prices - are related to luxury and there is always room for a more basic standard for those who prefer to use their money for the delights that their destination promises.
If this eventuates, the airlines will most certainly adopt a more appropriate name for this class of travel but it does have an unmistakeable connection to the live export trade. Airline travel was more glamorous when it was expensive and rare. In todays world, lower prices are paramount.
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