Uber makes app changes to take more seniors for a ride
Uber announced the rollout of two features designed for riders over the age of 65 on Monday, including one that will allow family members to book, pay for and track their trips.
The announcement comes one month after the features were launched in the US and after a study showed more than one in three older Australians found it difficult to arrange their own transport.
The features added to the tech giant's app would include "simple mode" that had been designed for older travellers who wanted easier access to rides, Uber Australia and New Zealand managing director Emma Foley said.
"Many older Australians have a smartphone these days, but figuring out how to use something new for the first time can still be a challenge," Ms Foley told AAP.
"Simple mode is for independent seniors who are happy to be out on their own but want to have a simpler way to book a ride."
When activated, the mode will show larger text in the app, fewer icons, and allow users to save frequently visited locations for quick access.
Also introduced in the update, "senior accounts" will feature more controls for family members, allowing them to track trips, contact drivers directly, as well as booking and paying for rides.
"The classic use case for this might be someone who is caring for their elderly mum and can't be there to take them to a doctor's appointment but wants to book a ride for them, track that trip, call the driver directly... and make it really simple to keep an eye on their loved one," Ms Foley said.
The features, tested in the US in June, will be delivered after a survey of more than 1000 Australians conducted by YouGov found 36 per cent of seniors considered organising transport to be a challenge in their daily lives.
It also comes less than a year after Uber launched a Caregiver feature in Australia to book trips on behalf of others, and a Teen mode expected to be delivered to NSW, Victoria and the Northern Territory shortly.
Research undertaken by Roy Morgan showed Uber had become significantly more popular than taxis in Australia, with more than 7.4 million people using the app-based service in March 2025 compared to 4.2 million hailing taxis.
Uber was significantly less popular with older generations, as the research found 1.05 million Baby Boomers used the service compared to 1.02 million using taxis, while the Interwar generation, born before 1946, preferred taxis to ride-share options.
Australians will be among the first in the world to test features designed to make ride-share services easier for seniors to access.
Uber announced the rollout of two features designed for riders over the age of 65 on Monday, including one that will allow family members to book, pay for and track their trips.
The announcement comes one month after the features were launched in the US and after a study showed more than one in three older Australians found it difficult to arrange their own transport.
The features added to the tech giant's app would include "simple mode" that had been designed for older travellers who wanted easier access to rides, Uber Australia and New Zealand managing director Emma Foley said.
"Many older Australians have a smartphone these days, but figuring out how to use something new for the first time can still be a challenge," Ms Foley told AAP.
"Simple mode is for independent seniors who are happy to be out on their own but want to have a simpler way to book a ride."
When activated, the mode will show larger text in the app, fewer icons, and allow users to save frequently visited locations for quick access.
Also introduced in the update, "senior accounts" will feature more controls for family members, allowing them to track trips, contact drivers directly, as well as booking and paying for rides.
"The classic use case for this might be someone who is caring for their elderly mum and can't be there to take them to a doctor's appointment but wants to book a ride for them, track that trip, call the driver directly... and make it really simple to keep an eye on their loved one," Ms Foley said.
The features, tested in the US in June, will be delivered after a survey of more than 1000 Australians conducted by YouGov found 36 per cent of seniors considered organising transport to be a challenge in their daily lives.
It also comes less than a year after Uber launched a Caregiver feature in Australia to book trips on behalf of others, and a Teen mode expected to be delivered to NSW, Victoria and the Northern Territory shortly.
Research undertaken by Roy Morgan showed Uber had become significantly more popular than taxis in Australia, with more than 7.4 million people using the app-based service in March 2025 compared to 4.2 million hailing taxis.
Uber was significantly less popular with older generations, as the research found 1.05 million Baby Boomers used the service compared to 1.02 million using taxis, while the Interwar generation, born before 1946, preferred taxis to ride-share options.
Australians will be among the first in the world to test features designed to make ride-share services easier for seniors to access.
Uber announced the rollout of two features designed for riders over the age of 65 on Monday, including one that will allow family members to book, pay for and track their trips.
The announcement comes one month after the features were launched in the US and after a study showed more than one in three older Australians found it difficult to arrange their own transport.
The features added to the tech giant's app would include "simple mode" that had been designed for older travellers who wanted easier access to rides, Uber Australia and New Zealand managing director Emma Foley said.
"Many older Australians have a smartphone these days, but figuring out how to use something new for the first time can still be a challenge," Ms Foley told AAP.
"Simple mode is for independent seniors who are happy to be out on their own but want to have a simpler way to book a ride."
When activated, the mode will show larger text in the app, fewer icons, and allow users to save frequently visited locations for quick access.
Also introduced in the update, "senior accounts" will feature more controls for family members, allowing them to track trips, contact drivers directly, as well as booking and paying for rides.
"The classic use case for this might be someone who is caring for their elderly mum and can't be there to take them to a doctor's appointment but wants to book a ride for them, track that trip, call the driver directly... and make it really simple to keep an eye on their loved one," Ms Foley said.
The features, tested in the US in June, will be delivered after a survey of more than 1000 Australians conducted by YouGov found 36 per cent of seniors considered organising transport to be a challenge in their daily lives.
It also comes less than a year after Uber launched a Caregiver feature in Australia to book trips on behalf of others, and a Teen mode expected to be delivered to NSW, Victoria and the Northern Territory shortly.
Research undertaken by Roy Morgan showed Uber had become significantly more popular than taxis in Australia, with more than 7.4 million people using the app-based service in March 2025 compared to 4.2 million hailing taxis.
Uber was significantly less popular with older generations, as the research found 1.05 million Baby Boomers used the service compared to 1.02 million using taxis, while the Interwar generation, born before 1946, preferred taxis to ride-share options.
Australians will be among the first in the world to test features designed to make ride-share services easier for seniors to access.
Uber announced the rollout of two features designed for riders over the age of 65 on Monday, including one that will allow family members to book, pay for and track their trips.
The announcement comes one month after the features were launched in the US and after a study showed more than one in three older Australians found it difficult to arrange their own transport.
The features added to the tech giant's app would include "simple mode" that had been designed for older travellers who wanted easier access to rides, Uber Australia and New Zealand managing director Emma Foley said.
"Many older Australians have a smartphone these days, but figuring out how to use something new for the first time can still be a challenge," Ms Foley told AAP.
"Simple mode is for independent seniors who are happy to be out on their own but want to have a simpler way to book a ride."
When activated, the mode will show larger text in the app, fewer icons, and allow users to save frequently visited locations for quick access.
Also introduced in the update, "senior accounts" will feature more controls for family members, allowing them to track trips, contact drivers directly, as well as booking and paying for rides.
"The classic use case for this might be someone who is caring for their elderly mum and can't be there to take them to a doctor's appointment but wants to book a ride for them, track that trip, call the driver directly... and make it really simple to keep an eye on their loved one," Ms Foley said.
The features, tested in the US in June, will be delivered after a survey of more than 1000 Australians conducted by YouGov found 36 per cent of seniors considered organising transport to be a challenge in their daily lives.
It also comes less than a year after Uber launched a Caregiver feature in Australia to book trips on behalf of others, and a Teen mode expected to be delivered to NSW, Victoria and the Northern Territory shortly.
Research undertaken by Roy Morgan showed Uber had become significantly more popular than taxis in Australia, with more than 7.4 million people using the app-based service in March 2025 compared to 4.2 million hailing taxis.
Uber was significantly less popular with older generations, as the research found 1.05 million Baby Boomers used the service compared to 1.02 million using taxis, while the Interwar generation, born before 1946, preferred taxis to ride-share options.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
35 minutes ago
- West Australian
Jim Chalmers doubles down after Treasury advice revealed Albanese Government can't meet 1.2m housing target
The Government will not meet its 1.2 million homes target and cannot fix the budget without raising taxes and cutting spending, according to leaked advice from Treasury bureaucrats. In advice released by mistake in a freedom of information request, the Treasurer's department warned in its post-election ministerial briefing the target to build 1.2 million by mid-2029 'would not be met' and suggested changing it. The briefing offered ministers options to speed up housing construction and better leverage existing grants to States, identified a 'dysfunctional' funding model for infrastructure such as water and sewerage connections, and said there were challenges with the responsiveness, capability and speed of key agency Housing Australia. It also advised 'tax should be raised as part of a broader tax reform' and 'improvements to the budget will need to come from economic growth, additional revenue and spending reductions'. Another crackdown on superannuation tax breaks for wealthy Australians was suggested. The information was released to the ABC, which was asked to delete the document released under freedom of information laws after it realised it had not blacked out several headings and subheadings from redacted sections. The ABC said it decided to publish details because they provide insight into the department's thinking of key economic issues facing Australia. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Monday said he was 'pretty relaxed' about the accidental release of the document, which also canvassed tax reform and global economic volatility. 'The point that the incoming government brief makes is the same point that I've been making (Housing Minister) Clare O'Neil and others have been making, is that we will need more effort to reach that substantial, ambitious housing target,' he said. 'We're investing tens of billions of dollars. We're working well with the States and territories and local governments. We're engaging with the industry. We're trying to get the capital flowing. I've changed the tax arrangements for build-to-rent… but we'll need to do better, and we'll need to do more. And the advice just reflects that.' Master Builders Australia estimates, based on housing approvals figures from May, that the nation will build just over a million homes by mid-2029 at the current construction rate. This falls short of the target by almost 160,000 homes, or 13.3 per cent. In WA, Master Builders estimates more than 125,000 homes will be built over that time, falling short of the State's share of the target by 3.4 per cent. Dr Chalmers insisted the target could still be met and said it wasn't a mistake to aim so high. 'We'd rather have a big, ambitious, difficult target, and work around the clock to meet it in all of the ways that I've run through today, than to continue the approach of our predecessors, which was to build too few homes,' he said. 'It's not the worst thing from time to time for it to be understood in the broader community that this will be a difficult target to meet, but if we all do our bit, we all play our part … then we can build the homes that people desperately need.'
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Target income tax brackets, leave major concessions alone, AMP's Shane Oliver says as Treasury warns Labor about budget
Labor has been warned against cutting tax concessions such as negative gearing or those found in the superannuation system as it eyes fundamental economic reform for its second term. Leaked information revealed Treasury has warned the government it needs to hike taxes and slash spending to ensure a 'sustainable budget'. It comes as Treasurer Jim Chalmers looks to boost productivity and revamp the tax system while Australia disproportionately relies on income tax for revenue. The Albanese government will examine this at its productivity roundtable in August, where leaders from the business, political, union and economic worlds will brainstorm Australia's path forward. AMP's chief economist Shane Oliver said a 'danger' facing Australia's economy was the productivity roundtable becoming 'a way of finding new tax revenue rather than actual tax reform'. 'If your solution is, 'We're not going raise personal income tax … we might actually cut them',' Mr Oliver told 'If the way that's done is by winding back superannuation concessions, negative gearing and so on, then it's a furphy because you still end up with a highly progressive tax system. In fact, you make it potentially more progressive. 'The reason we have people relying on these tax concessions - negative gearing, capital gains tax and discounts in superannuation - is because marginal tax rates are quite high and they kick in at relatively low levels to people's income.' About 52 per cent of the Federal government's tax take in the 2024 financial year was from income tax, as Australian income earners contribute at some of highest rates in the OECD. 'We've got a situation where 10 per cent of taxpayers pay something like half of the tax revenue going to Canberra,' Mr Oliver said. Australia's highest tax threshold applies to income above $190,000. This is less than double the average salary in Australia and is proportionally much lower than the ratio of the average salary to the highest tax bracket in similar economies. The USA's highest tax bracket of 37 per cent applies to income above US$609,000. A 37 per cent tax rate applies to income in Australia between $135,000-$190,000, while a 45 per cent rate applies to income above this threshold. Mr Oliver warned against minimising income tax without meaningful change to the tax brackets. He stressed without substantial changes to the income tax scale and the removal of tax concessions, the government could 'actually increase the burden on income earners' as less Australians invest into areas where they are covered by these concessions. 'You could be giving on the one hand and taking on the other. That's the risk in all of this,' he said. Australia can afford to lower income tax if it re-examines the GST, Mr Oliver has previously warned. Deloitte Access Economics boss Pradeep Philip said reducing Australia's reliance on income tax was critical as the demographics of the nation change. 'The income tax burden will increasingly fall on a smaller and smaller proportion of Australia's population because we have an ageing population,' Mr Philip told 'We do need to engineer a tax mix switch and reduce our reliance on income tax and move to other kind of bases.' He stressed there was opportunity for 'holistic reform' for the tax system by revamping the GST. 'It's also important for the states and territories to think about reforms to the GST,' Mr Philip said. 'That can help the states and territories in terms of getting rid of inefficient taxes and boosting economic growth around the country.' The ABC on Monday revealed Treasury told Labor that "improvements to the budget will need to come from economic growth, additional revenue and spending reductions" and that "tax should be raised as part of broader tax reform". Uncertainty surrounding the United States and its trade war was also analysed by Treasury with the department presenting an array of scenarios including if there was a loss of confidence in the US dollar.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Chalmers backs ‘ambitious' 1.2m homes goal
Jim Chalmers has doubled down on Labor's ability to build 1.2 million homes by June 30, 2029, after accidentally published advice from Treasury said the deadline would not be met. Partially unredacted files released to the ABC through a Freedom of Information request showed Treasury warning that the National Housing Accords would 'not be met,' and suggested a review of Housing Australia, the national housing agency. While Labor has committed to building 1.2 million well-located homes in the five years to June 30, 2029, the target is already 55,300 homes behind following its first year of operation. Recent data compiled by the Institute of Public Affairs has also revealed that in the decade between 2014 to 2024, the time it took to build a freestanding home had increased 50 per cent, from 8.5 months to 12.7 months. In the same period the cost of building materials had also soared by 53 per cent. Jim Chalmers backed Labor's ability to reach the 1.2 million Housing Accord target. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Despite the slow start, Mr Chalmers backed Labor's ability to reach the target, adding that he was 'pretty relaxed' about the accidental FOI slip. 'Under current trajectories, we would fall short. But that doesn't mean that between now and over the course of the next four years, that we can't consider ways and work with the states and territories and others, local governments and others, on ways to build more homes,' he told reporters on Monday. While he acknowledged the government needs to 'do more' and 'do better' to reach the 1.2 million figure, he said the ambition was warranted given that housing is one of the 'defining challenges in our economy'. 'It's not the worst thing from time to time for it to be understood in the broader community that this will be a difficult target to meet,' he said. 'But if we all do our bit, we all play our part, as the Commonwealth has been willing to play, then we can build the homes that people desperately need.' Under the policy, Australia needs to build 1.2 million well-located homes in the five years to June 30, 2029. NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia Acting Coalition housing spokesman James Paterson said the advice from Treasury has 'confirmed what Australians already know'. 'Labor will fail to build the 1.2 million new homes they promised,' he said. 'Under the former Coalition Government, Australia built an average of 190,000 new homes per year. Under Labor, that figure has dropped to barely 170,000. To meet their own housing target, Labor needs to build 250,000 new homes annually. 'Instead of building housing, Labor are obsessed with building housing bureaucracies.' Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has previously vowed to cut red tape and regulation to supercharge the number of homes coming onto the market. Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has vowed to cut red tape and regulation. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Like Mr Chalmers, she said the Productivity Roundtable in August would help identify ways to improve planning policy. 'It's just too hard to build a house in this country because we're not innovating enough and because we don't have the workforce we need,' she told the ABC earlier this month. 'So, the roundtable in August is going to be a really important opportunity for me and other people in this sector to come forward and say we need to make some big decisions about how we are going to shift those dynamics so we can get better housing outcomes for Australians.' Sharing more details of the highly-anticipated talks in August, Mr Chalmers said business leaders, unions and regulators would be asked to focus on resilience, productivity and sustainability across the three days. RBA governor Michele Bullock will speak on the first day of talks, while Productivity Commissioner Danielle Wood and Treasury Secretary Jenny Wilkinson will respectively take charge of days three and four.
