App-based ride-sharing service UberX has emerged as a lifeline for out-of-work former manufacturing employees.
New statistics from the illegal ride- share service show most of its drivers hail from Broadmeadows and other suburbs traditionally tied to the car industry.
An Uber spokesman said ride-sharing in Melbourne was providing economic opportunity to residents who were unemployed, particularly those affected by the declining manufacturing and automotive industries.
Six months ago, Uber’s chief adviser, David Plouffe, announced the company was committed to creating 20,000 jobs in Australia this year as part of a bid to encourage the state government to legalise the app.
Already, 15,000 drivers have signed up to the UberX platform, which offers passengers mid-range cars rather than high-end hire vehicles used for its more upmarket and legal Uber Black service.
TSC spokesman Jaime Collins said there were about 12,700 active taxi drivers in the metropolitan taxi zone.
“Of these, 24 per cent reside within Hume and Whittlesea.”
Other data from the taxi industry competitor shows that one in 10 UberX drivers across Australia is a military veteran, 12 per cent of drivers are over 55, and 45 per cent come from postcodes with high rates of unemployment.
