Uber Australia to give free rides to anyone named Sam

Uber Australia will be giving away almost free rides to anyone named Sam. The promotion will see people whose first name starts with Sam – Samantha, Samwise, Samir, Samandriel, Samuel etc – and will last for a week starting Aug. 21.

The ride-sharing service said not everyone has heard of Uber but everyone has heard of a Sam. As the name is common, it’s expected that there would be quite a lot of Sams trying out the service for almost free, $20 per day credit to be exact.

For Sams who are interested, they need to register online by Friday. They will then automatically get a $20 credit to their account every day from Aug. 21 to 27. If their ride for the day costs more than $20, they would have to pay the excess. The one free ride expires each day after 24 hours and will not roll over the next day.

“Not everyone may have experienced Uber, but everyone knows a Sam, it’s actually the most popular unisex Uber Rider name in Australia! By enlisting Sams to be Sambassadors for a week, we hope they will share their Uber experience with others too,” the company explained.

For those unfortunately not named Sam, they can still score credit if they are first-time Uber riders. They would need a friend named Sam for their unique referral code, which Sams can find on the Uber app’s “Free Rides” link. The referral code will give them up to $15 credit on their first ride. For existing Uber customers, the company has a sage advice: “We would recommend making plans with a Sam all week!”

Flying Uber

Apart from the Sam promotion, Uber is also planning to introduce flying cars to commuters. Its Elevate program is looking into the possibility of Sydney and Melbourne as the ground base.

Uber chief product officer Jeff Holden said the company is “dead serious” about the project, which they think would cost just about the same as a regular Uber fare. Commuters won’t be able to ride the fancy air taxis until at least 2023, though.

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