Sydney Airport reveals massive change to Uber pickups
Make sure you’re familiar with the new system before your next flight.
By David Flynn, September 18 2024
Dramatic changes are on the way for Uber pickups at Sydney Airport, with an all-new Uber pickup area outside the T1 international terminal and the introduction of PIN technology to reduce waiting times.
The new system takes effect from Tuesday September 24, 2024 – here’s what you need to know.
Sydney Airport’s new Uber pickup areas
Passengers arriving on international flights at T1 will no longer have to cart their luggage all the way to the Priority Pickup area adjacent to the P7 carpark and wait for their Uber driver to arrive.
Instead, there’ll now be two dedicated Uber pickup areas right outside the arrivals area – and even closer than the taxi rank – so travellers can walk out of the terminal and hop straight into their Uber ride.
However, it’s worth noting these new dedicated Uber pickup areas are outside Arrivals Hall B – used by the likes of Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Qatar Airways and often Emirates – rather than Arrivals Hall A, which is typically home to Qantas, Cathay Pacific and others.
So if your inbound flight sees you arriving at Hall A, you’ll need to turn left and walk a few minutes to the new Uber pickup areas.
Other rideshare services such as Didi and GoCatch will remain in the more distant Priority Pickup area, as these new kerbside pickup arrangements are exclusive to Uber.
The two Uber pickup areas are marked in black and located directly outside the T1 arrivals hall.
Using Uber PIN at Sydney Airport
The Uber pickup area that’s directly outside Arrivals Hall B has seven kerbside pickup bays and is reserved for UberX ride requests made using the Uber PIN system.
Already in use at Melbourne Airport as well as major events like the Australian Grand Prix and the Melbourne Cup, Uber PIN slashes the waiting time by letting you step into the first available ride.
There’s no more requesting an Uber and watching the car slowly make its way from a nearby suburb to the Priority Pickup area.
Instead, Uber drivers will be waiting in a dedicated Uber holding area next to the airport’s taxi holding area.
A new Uber holding zone will feed the dedicated Uber pickup areas.
When you request a ride from T1 you’ll receive a six-digit PIN code on the app which matches you with the next available driver at one of the pickup zone’s seven bays.
The code is linked to your specific request, destination and ride preferences: simply show the PIN on your Uber app to the driver and you’ll be on your way.
Sydney Airport’s other Uber pickup zone
However, the Uber PIN pickup area – which is open between 6.30am and 10.30pm – is only for UberX PIN-based rides.
If you request any Uber ride other than UberX – such as Uber Green, Max, XL, Premier or Assist – you’ll need to step across to the accessible pickup zone which lies between the Uber and Taxi ranks.
Sydney Airport tells Executive Traveller that as of September 24 this will be shared with Uber, with four of the seven parking bays set aside for Uber’s ‘non-X’ rides.
These will work in the same way as before: passengers will request a specific type of Uber ride, a driver waiting in the holding area will accept the job and then proceed to this secondary Uber pickup zone.
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Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
09 Jun 2016
Total posts 20
PIN setup should minimise drivers cancelling rides when they aren't happy with the distance/destination/fare etc.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jun 2017
Total posts 37
Thanks for reporting this correctly that it’s not a first for Australia (yes MEL has) with PIN tech as per other press.
7 bays will be interesting. I think it’s 13 in MEL and that struggles at times. Also the outbound from taxi rank crossing the inbound for uber on the map looks messy. Not an expert on the roads there but all looks tricky. Good luck to everyone.
03 Aug 2020
Total posts 17
Am sure this will be s big improvement just like the Uber pick up area at the Qantas domestic terminal. Straight out the front door and your at the pick up point. Interesting to also see the number of people not waiting for taxi's now vs Uber
16 Oct 2012
Total posts 50
Sounds like MEL. Fine if you like Uber, but if you prefer an alternative…
Can’t help feeling this sort of arrangement, like in MEL, is driven as much by financial arrangement with Uber than any long term benefit or provision of choice to the travelling public. Profit first.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Sep 2021
Total posts 18
Build a railway connection!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Dec 2015
Total posts 27
Err, there is a railway connection....
08 May 2020
Total posts 47
Melbourne is particularly bad. Most airports around the world you can buy a local transit card and pick up paper timetables and maps while you wait for your bag to arrive on the carousel - no luck in Melbourne. It really feels like a royal middle finger welcome for tourists.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Sep 2021
Total posts 18
Unfortunately over the decades from my youth trying to get a taxi home to western suburbs of Sydney late at night, or waiting for a Silver Service Taxi to arrive, that didnt show up for a 6:00AM flight departure. Countless ride refusals because it didnt suit the driver, hours wasted on taxi call centres. I cant forget nor forgive, I tar all Taxis with the same brush.
I'm Uber all the way and used Uber from Sydney international recently. Seamless.
If only they would drop the airport rail surcharge, when there is more than one travelling the Uber is very enticing.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
03 Jan 2013
Total posts 64
Agree, too many bad experiences with taxi’s over 30 years in Australia and overseas. Only ever Uber/Bolt/Ola now both here and overseas.
11 Sep 2015
Total posts 215
I'm not at all sold on this. Under the current system there is no limit to how many Ubers can be picking people up.
Under the new system there will be 7 bays only for Uber X and only for people who use the PIN system, well that's not too bad if we assume most people request Uber X and will use the PIN system and there's a steady flow of Uber X drivers from the holding zone to the pick-up bays.
But it's the limit of four bays from the accessible parking area for all other types of Uber which I think is where things will come unstuck. I know a lot of travellers request Uber Green, MAX, Premier etc for various reasons, and especially families with a lot of luggage. I think these four bays is where the logjam will be. Oh well, we will just have to wait and see!
31 Mar 2014
Total posts 391
I am sure Uber has data on the number of Uber X vs other Uber services people order and have worked with Syd airport to facilitate the appropriate ratio.
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
26 Jul 2012
Total posts 40
What amazes me is that ET reports on issues like this, yet not one article on the third runway approval for Melbourne Airport!
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2557
Hi Performa – the answer to your question is very simple.
Sydney Airport is about to make a sweeping change to T1 Uber pickups: this change will from next week impact every traveller (and Executive Traveller reader) who takes Uber. So it's a 'high interest & high impact' story, and one which also needs to be told with the sort of value-added info we have (compared to other media which didn't go into the same practical detail).
Melbourne Airport getting approval for a third runway, on the other hand, has zero impact on travellers or Executive Traveller readers, at least not until the runway actually opens in 2031. It's a story of primary interest to people in Melbourne, so on the day the approval was announced it quickly received blanket coverage in Melbourne media (TV, print, online, radio), so what value could we add to that? It was also covered in aviation blogs etc (and of course Executive Traveller is not an aviation blog, we focus more on passengers). And again, we'd have no real, unique value to add to the story beyond other coverage, and I dare say other better-resourced outlets (mainstream media) would have the edge on us there.
That's a glimpse into the thinking behind the day-to-day 'story selection' process here at Executive Traveller. It comes down to resourcing, prioritisation, impact & interest, and our focus on our audience.
And with that, we now return the comment stream to the topic of SYD and Uber :)
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