Megan Singleton: BloggerAtLarge writer on Auckland Airport moving the pick up and drop off zone for Ubers

After 11 years of operating in New Zealand, Ubers can now drop passengers off out front by the doors at Auckland Airport's domestic terminal.

Instead of walking a couple hundred meters from the domestic terminal and through the car rental garage, people in Ubers can enjoy the same convenience as the taxi and shuttle bus riders.  

BloggerAtLarge writer Megan Singleton unpacked this latest announcement - and gave a brief update on the progress of Auckland International Airport's construction.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News TALKSTB, Travel with Wendy Woo tours Where the
world is Yours for now?

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Joining me now to talk travel. Megan Singleton, blogger at
large dot com. How are we?

Speaker 3 (00:23):
I'm very well, Thank you people, you're going well?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Excellent, Yes I am. And some really good news if
you travel through Augland Domestic Airport and you need to catch.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
A n Uber. Finally, after only eleven years of operating
in New Zealand, Uber has been allowed to join the
big boys up the front by the fore court and
drop us off and pick us up in the actual
taxi rank. It isn't that exciting? No more walking, you know,
at least a couple of one hundred meters through the

(00:54):
car rental garage to the alleyway where we used to
have to get our ubers from as if we were
like not to be seen, you know, finding out the
back well.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
And if you were doing it for the first time,
you did wonder whether you going in the right direction
where it wasn't you know. So, I mean, once you've
done it once, you kind of worked it out. But
this is quite a sensible move. Why has it taken
so long?

Speaker 3 (01:14):
Oh, I don't know why it's saying so long. Although
the press release from all of the airport did say
that people's changing habits of getting taxis, but we changed
that eleven years ago, didn't we anyway, But taxis will
still be there, so you can still use all your
corporate cab and Alert and co op taxis and things
like that they're still out the front. But the difference

(01:35):
is in my husband's flown it twice this week. When
you order your uber from within the airport, you will
be assigned a bay number and so because it's still
obviously no bigger than it was before, right, So then
what you'll do is you'll stand in that bay, although
there's not a lot of standing room, so whether that's

(01:55):
still to be widened. If you can picture the domestic terminal,
you've got the public drop off area and you've got
foot pathsy the side, lots of space for you to
stand and wait, not so much on the taxi rank side.
So I guess they'll just sort of figure that out,
maybe move some barriers around so that there is some
more space there. But it is good news, especially if
you're not if you don't walk. Well, you know, it

(02:16):
was a big hike to actually walk to Domestic from
Uber and so now they're up the front, so that's
great news.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
And meanwhile, over at the International things are sit under construction.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
There and that'll be some years away. So right now
the road right in front of the fore Quarter is
still closed, so you get the ubers can drop you
off in the public pick up. If you're catching an
Uber out of International, you need to go out hard
left past the little coffee shop in the arrivals hall
and you get your Uber over there. You don't walk

(02:46):
back to where you where you were dropped, if you
know what I mean. So it's still a little bit
of an a maze and a wiggle waggle over there,
but that's because you know they're going to be joining
up the Domestic and the International terminals and there's quite
a lot of construction and stillphing's happening. It's good news.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Thank you very much for the update that was Megan Singleton,
blogger at large dot com.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks at b from nine am Sunday
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio,