QUEENSLAND AND UBER LAUNCH SCUBER

Queensland Australia, in partnership with Uber, today launched the world’s first rideshare submarine experience on the Great Barrier Reef.

Announcing  scUber, Tourism Industry Development Minister for Queensland, Kate Jones, said this new form of travel gives riders an unfiltered lens to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a playground rich in marine life offering remarkable underwater experiences.

"How excited are we today to have a world first on the world’s largest and most beautiful reef,” said Kate Jones.

“We all know that you can see the Great Barrier Reef from space. But from today, you’ll be able to see the Great Barrier Reef from the world’s very first rideshare submarine.”

But it was Dr David Wachenfeld, Chief Scientist for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the first person to experience scUber, who captured the heart of curious bystanders when he described scUber as a cross between two Hollywood icons.

“We were hovering over the bottom looking down and … you get to see the big stuff and you get to see the little stuff. And, it really is bizarre … like a cross between Nemo and a Bond movie,” Chief Scientist, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority,  Dr David Wachenfield said.

Queensland and Uber have teamed up to deliver this exclusive experience, in a landmark partnership to showcase the reef. 

Passengers will get 180-degree views of the underwater icon and taken to depths of up to 30 metres, without even needing a scuba mask.

The rideshare experience will be available at the touch of a button, costing AUD$3000 for two passengers.

“Having this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to access a submarine typically only available to the ultra-rich is a world changing experience,” said Uber Australia and NZ General Manager, Susan Anderson.

Riders can book the underwater adventure through the Uber app, which kicks off on Heron Island off the coast of Gladstone in Queensland on Monday, 27th May, 2019. 

To celebrate the launch of scUber, Queensland and Uber are offering this exceptional bucket-list experience to one lucky winner and a friend from each of the following countries: USA, Canada, United Kingdom, France, New Zealand and Australia.

Uber will further be donating $100,000 to Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef to help support conservation initiatives on the Great Barrier Reef, and will match the equivalent value generated from every scUber ride taken.

The unique rideshare service starts on 27th May, and will move to Agincourt Reef, off the coast of Port Douglas in Tropical North Queensland until 18th June.

Heron Island is a small coral cay, based at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef,  that has captured the hearts of David Attenborough and Jacques Cousteau.

Greater than 69 million football fields in size, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef with an extraordinary range of habitats and species.  It has more than 600 different types of coral, 1625 species of fish and more than 1000 islands, making it one of the most complex natural systems on earth.

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00:00     Heron Island jetty

00:05     Launch wideshot

00:10     Kate Jones, Minister for Innovation, Tourism Industry Development and the Commonwealth Games in the Queensland Government

“How excited are we today to have a world first on the world’s largest and most beautiful reef. Today we all know that you can see the Great Barrier Reef from space. But from today, you’ll be able to see the Great Barrier Reef from the world’s very first ridesharing submarine experience.”

00:27     Dr David Wachenfeld, Chief scientist, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

“We were like, just hovering over the bottom looking down and so, like, you get to see the big stuff and you get to see the little stuff. And,  it really is like the most bizarre, like a cross between a Nemo and a Bond movie.”

00:40     Vox Pop 1,  Markus Fry, Visitor to Heron Island  from Iceland

 “Absolutely amazing. It’s a great way to promote the reef and for me personally coming here for the first time to see this wonder. Seeing it from that side, I’ve been snorkelling here and scuba diving and that would be a different dimension of it.

00:50     Vox Pop 2: Carlotta Kelly, Visitor to Heron Island from North Carolina, USA

“I think its one way for people that don’t dive, to actually really experience what the coral reef is all about.”

00:59     Launch wideshot

01:09     scUber world’s first rideshare submarine reveal

01:35     Heron Island GVs

02:42     Heron Island reef walk

02:50     Heron Island drone shot of stingrays

02:55     Heron Island dive experience

03:08     Heron Island underwater reef and marine life shots

03:34     More scUber experience shots above and below water

04:02     TEQ scUber TVC

04:51 Susan Anderson, Regional General Manager of Uber, Australia and New Zealand

“Having this once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to access a submarine typically only available to the ultra-rich, it is something that will give more people the option to have this world changing experience.”

05:04  Leanne Coddington, Chief Executive Officer, Tourism and Events Queensland

“At $1500 per person, you get a whole day on the Great Barrier Reef, two helicopter trips across the reef, an hour in scUber exploring the Great Barrier Reef up to 30 metres in depth, Uber transfers to and from your hotel. And you feel like James Bond doing something that nobody else in the world can do. 

05:24     Erika Bergman, Chief Submarine Pilot, scUber

When you get in the submarine, it’s just this wide open space. Rather than feeling like you’re swimming through the ocean, you’re really becoming a part of it and that’s when the lightbulb goes off for people who’ve never been under water, or never been in a submarine. They see the connection in the ocean and what’s above it, that’s the best part of my job

05:52     ENDS