Uber rideshare services will soon be available in the Great Southern, with the popular company seeking drivers to join up ahead of its launch.

Although Uber already offered its food delivery and courier services in the region, Tuesday’s announcement marks the first time passenger rideshare has been on the table for Albany.

Albany is one of several regional WA cities tipped to be included in the expansion, with Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Esperance, Geraldton, Broome, Karratha, Port Hedland and Augusta-Margaret River also set to benefit from the service.

Currently, the company serves only the Perth area and parts of the South West, with its operational circle spanning to Lancelin in the north, York in the east and Dunsborough in the south.

It comes only months after national company 13Cabs edged in on the Great Southern market which was previously serviced solely by local businesses, such as Albany City Cabs, Rainbow Coast Taxis, Great Southern Taxis and Eclipse Taxis Albany.

While no fixed date is yet set for the Albany launch, head of driver operations at Uber Australia and New Zealand Daniel Lopez encouraged those interested in driving to sign up soon.

“We’re excited to be preparing to bring Uber to Albany and to offer locals the opportunity to earn flexibly by driving on the platform,” he said.

“Driving with Uber means earning on your own terms — whether that’s supplementing an existing income, saving towards a goal, or working around other commitments.

“Driver partners can choose when and how often they drive, with weekly earnings and in-app safety support and features designed to give them confidence on the road.

“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 expanded into Perth and surrounds two years later, becoming a ubiquitous method of transport for many in the metropolitan area.

More than 200,000 driver partners and delivery people work with the platform across the country.