The impending arrival of rideshare giant Uber in Geraldton has been welcomed with open arms by locals, who say it will ease frustrations about a lack of choice, help people earn extra money and provide a safe option to get home.

Uber is expanding its presence in regional WA, announcing it is making its way to Geraldton but an exact launch date yet to be confirmed.

The Mid West city is not the only regional WA hub Uber has set its horizons on, with the service also announcing plans to launch in Albany, Kalgoorlie, Esperance and Margaret River.

Uber has already made its presence known within the community with Uber Eats operating in Geraldton for more than a year now.

Currently, Geraldton has limited car transport services with the Geraldton Associated Taxis and 13cabs Geraldton offering a limited supply of cabs.

City of Greater Geraldton mayor Jerry Clune said the service added choice for public transport commuters.

“It’s been a while coming, and the community seems to have been asking for it for a long time,” he said.

“It’s going to give people a bit of choice, I guess, which is the big thing.

“We do currently have a taxi service, and I guess it’ll give people an opportunity to have another income source if they’re entrepreneurial enough to get on and utilise the Uber opportunities.

“You can go out and have a good time, but to get home safely has not always been a pleasant experience.”

Mr Clune believed the sooner Uber launched in Geraldton the better.

Owner of Freemasons Hotel Keiran Brain was also pleased with the news.

“I think it’s good safety for everybody, allows people to get home later and come out, and not even consider having to drive,” he said.

“There’s not enough taxis in Geraldton . . . not even as a pub owner, as someone who has had to get to the airport and back a number of times, that was tricky when there’s not as enough taxis to support the population.”

Owner of The Geraldton Hotel Graham Phease agreed the taxi facilities were inadequate in Geraldton.

“Anything that can increase transport to people at night time around Geraldton will only help,” he said.

The Geraldton Guardian conducted a straw poll this week, with the majority of people surveyed excited and supportive about Uber’s upcoming launch.

Isabelle Scarpuzza, a student dietitian from Geraldton, is pleased that Uber is coming.

“We need it because the taxi services aren’t the best, unfortunately . . . the turnaround times for them to pick you up are like hours, and for young people, they’re more inclined to drink and drive,” she said.

However, local John Burgess was not impressed, saying Geraldton did not need “another multinational coming in”.

With no fixed date for the launch, Uber is encouraging Geraldton locals to sign up to become a driving partner.

Head of driver operations at Uber Australia and New Zealand Daniel Lopez said: “We encourage anyone who’s interested to sign up as soon as possible, as the onboarding process can take at least three to four weeks.”

Uber launched in Australia in 2012 and has welcomed more than 200,000 driver partners and delivery people who earn through the platform nationally.