Want to get a fish eye’s view of the Great Barrier Reef but don’t have a boat?
Ride-share company Uber Technologies Inc. announced on May 23 that it’s launching a new feature called ScUber, allowing customers to book a submarine trip through the Uber app in Queensland, Australia.
The ScUber experience will be available from May 27 to June 18, initially from Heron Island off the coast of Gladstone in the Southern Great Barrier Reef region, and then from the coast of Port Douglas in Cairns, from June 9 until June 18.
For A$3,000 ($2,068), the experience includes being picked up from, and dropped off at, your location via the Uber app, then a helicopter ride to the launch point (either Heron Island or Port Douglas), a one-hour ride in the ScUber submarine, and a half-day of snorkeling and touring the Great Barrier Reef.
The submarine service is designed to support the protection of the coral reef system through Uber’s new partnership with the organization Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef.
Uber is no stranger to nontraditional marketing stunts, having previously ventured into ice cream delivery and a service called UberKittens, which allowed customers to request a playdate with kittens to support the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The company is also working to develop a flying taxi via a partnership with Aurora Flight Sciences.
• Contact Claire Ballentine in New York at cballentine@bloomberg.net.
