A guide to Uber hotspots in Brisbane

Over the last twenty years, Brisbane has steadily grown into an expansive bustling metropolis. Its population is on the rise, and so is the demand for Uber drivers. There’s no secret key to success for driving Uber cars in Brisbane, but there are some best practices you can follow to ensure you make a living out of it.

Regardless of whether you own your own vehicle or rent it, to do well as a rideshare or Uber driver in Brisbane, you have to research hot spots and peak times, and you have to experiment with them.

Doing a bit of due diligence will help you develop an understanding of how and where peak periods happen in Brisbane.

The following list is by no means all-inclusive or exhaustive, but it’s intended to get you thinking.

Monday to Friday – 4AM-9AM

Why: Every weekday morning, Brisbane is alive with commuters who need to get to work, which is why this is one of the busiest periods for Uber drivers in Brisbane.

Where: While there are places of employment all over the city, an overwhelming number of white collar workers commute from inner-city suburbs to the Brisbane CBD. Focusing on inner-city suburbs during this period is viable, as people in these suburbs may be tempted by a quick and easy lift to work.

Some inner-city suburbs to test out include Paddington, Spring Hill, Tenerife, Bowen Hills, Red Hill, Toowong, Highgate Hill, Milton, and West End.

Considerations: The more Brisbane’s population increases, the more rush hour congestion you will encounter.

Heavy traffic generally peaks between 7AM and 8.30AM, and it’s recommended that you subscribe to traffic updates. Here’s a resource to get you started.

Friday and Saturday – 7PM-5AM

Why: A huge number of Brisbanites celebrate the end of the working week with a Friday night out, and an even bigger number head out on Saturday evening. Brisbane is awash with entertainment precincts and drinking and dining hubs, with more popping up as the population grows. This means, after some testing of the waters, opportunities for you.

Where: Fortitude Valley, obviously, but this has the potential to be a competitive spot. As noted above, there are a number of other viable zones which could prove as lucrative as Fortitude Valley on Friday and Saturday nights. These include the CBD, Paddington, (the Caxton St end in particular), West End, South Bank, Tenerife, and Newstead.

Considerations: While Friday and Saturday nights have the potential to be the most lucrative for drivers of Uber cars in Brisbane, these two nights can also be the most stressful times to work. Ubering on Friday and Saturday nights isn’t for everyone.

To put it bluntly, Friday and Saturday nights mean alcohol, and this means your passengers can be difficult or unpredictable, or both. And the later in the evening it gets, the higher the chances you will get a customer who is difficult or unreasonable. These things can’t always be predicted; you might get a rider with a five-star rating who just on that particular night is really intoxicated.

If you don’t have a thick skin, or have a low tolerance for drunken revellers, the Friday/Saturday night rush might not be for you.

If you’re just starting out driving Uber cars in Brisbane and want to test the weekend evening rush, try an inner-city precinct other than the Valley first, and then work your way in.

Highly recommended: talk to other drivers first. There are a number of Uber driver forums, and a number of them have a Brisbane section. These forums include drivers who have loads of experience and strategies for dealing with ‘Valley passengers’.

Saturday & Sunday – All Day

Why: There are a few reasons.

• Brisbane is a river town, and that means people flocking to iconic spots on the already iconic Brisbane River for picnics, barbecues, gatherings, and various outdoor activities.
• Brisbane is ever increasingly a cafe town, and that means an abundance of Brisbanites obsessed with the idea of going out for breakfast to any inner-city suburban cafe you care to name.
• Brisbane is a sporting town, so there’s no end to the variety of sporting events—including some really big ones—being held on almost every weekend of the year.

Where: 

• Always popular, all day: Kangaroo Point cliffs, South Bank, New Farm Park, the Powerhouse, the CBD Botanical Gardens.
• Morning cafe locations: West End, Paddington, New Farm, Fortitude Valley, Newmarket, Milton
• Sport: Suncorp Stadium, The Gabba (Brisbane Cricket Ground), Ballymore, RNA Showgrounds.

Considerations: The only major consideration if you’re planning to drive Uber over the weekends is to do research into each weekend’s major sporting events. If an event is being held at one of the major venues mentioned above, you should determine some safe pickup and drop-off points for your passengers.

Make sure hotspots mean a profit for you

A great way to avoid the pitfall of engine wear and high fuel costs is to rent an Uber-ready, fuel-efficient vehicle, one that has the service and maintenance included in the weekly rate. Keyz provides a diverse range of late model vehicles to suit a number of rideshare services. You can get in touch here.