IF you’ve caught the occasional Uber recently, chances are you’ve met Thomas Peet.
The former Sydneysider has been living in Broken Hill for 10 years, driving for Uber for two, and has recognised a need that he feels he can satisfy.
“It happens all the time,” Mr Peet said. “People new to town ask me to take them somewhere interesting, to show them the best the town has to offer. Uber is not set up for that, unfortunately, but I came to realise there was a strong demand for small, personalised group tours.”
That germ of an idea will soon be a going concern, Aussie Tom’s Tours to begin operation in Broken Hill at the end of this month, Mr Peet as personal driver and guide.
As a seasoned voyager himself – his wanderings around the globe documented on his YouTube channel, Aussie Tom’s Travels – Mr Peet knows more than a little bit about what your average traveler wants.
“The market is definitely there for people who want to be picked up from their location and dropped back at the end,” he said. “It’s mostly about transport and information, rather than holding people’s hands. People don’t want that anyway.
“At the same time, people don’t want to be left to work things out for themselves. They want someone with local knowledge who can show them the way – the best places to eat, the best art galleries, little things off the beaten track.”
Though the exact contents of each tour may be curated by the client, distinct packages will also be offered, such as a “pub crawl” tour – an excursion with which Mr Peet, as an Uber driver, is all too familiar.
“My initial idea for driving an Uber was that it would be my semi-retirement job,” he said, “but it’s blown out to be a bit bigger than that. We’ve got five drivers now, and the tours will mostly happen during the day, so it won’t really impact on my driving an Uber.”
Aussie Tom’s Tours will specifically cater for small groups of no more than four people, providing an intimate counterpoint to the various bus and group tours already available in Broken Hill.
“The important thing is getting people around town as quickly as possible and in comfort,” Mr Peet said.
Bookings will be taken at aussietomstours.com.au, the website set to go live on August 26, after the dust has settled from the Mundi Mundi Bash.
“It’s a fantastic town,” Mr Peet enthused. “I think a lot of locals underestimate what we’ve got here to show people. They’re all used to it.
“But tourists seem to be blown away by what Broken Hill has to offer.”
