Despite constant challenges to the legality of its taxi service, Uber it seems is continuing to expand space, globally and in the UK. After starting out in the Californian city of San Francisco in 2010, Uber is now available in more than 200 cities across the world. Since moving into London in 2012, the firm has expanded its UK presence into Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle and Manchester.
The firm now seems intent on cornering the taxi market in the north, with further Uber branches opening in towns within Greater Manchester. As of now, Uber rides can now be hailed via the eponymous app from Bolton, Oldham and Bury, adding to existing coverage in Rochdale, Stockport and Salford.
Following the recent announcement, Uber’s Greater Manchester general manager, Max Lines, said, “We’re delighted to be bringing UberX to more towns. From the growth we have seen in Manchester we know the people in the region love Uber, so we are really excited to open the app to more people in the area.”
Taxi drivers in these Greater Manchester towns may however be less thrilled by Uber’s encroachment onto their turf, and cabbies in the area and elsewhere in the world remain angry at what they see as an unregulated and improperly licensed taxi firm competing for their customers. According to the Manchester Evening News though, some taxi firms are more stoical about the situation, with Oldham taxi firm boss Jay Khan saying, “My view is that it is competition. We have to accept it and get on with it. There is nothing really we can do about it. The thing we can do is to compete… we will make sure our standards and services are up to scratch.”
He added, “Our customers would rather talk to a person rather than a computer, or no one. It is a personal service.”
London threat to Uber minicab drivers
Back in Uber’s UK stronghold of London meanwhile, the firm is seeking a meeting with London Mayor Boris Johnson, over his proposals to reduce the number of minicabs operating in the capital.
Johnson announced in recent weeks that he was planning on, “[taking] action against the threat posed by the massive increase we are seeing in the number of private hire vehicles.”
According to the BBC he went on to say that, “There are only 25,000 black cabs and 8,000 buses in London and yet there are already over 75,000 minicabs and rising. We’re starting to see a threat to free movement of traffic on the roads… we will also be seeking powers for TfL over pedicabs – which so far have been completely immune from regulation.”
The mayor is seeking to ban the pedicabs, more commonly known as rickshaws, from London’s streets – a move which will no doubt also be welcomed by the black cab drivers with which they compete in Central London.
Uber has formally requested a meeting with the mayor to discuss his proposals, which the company’s Jo Bertram has said will, “force people back into their own cars, causing more congestion and Pollution.” She also claimed that, “This is why smart technology like Uber is so important as it ensures modern clean vehicles can move lots more people around the city efficiently. “
But a spokesman for the mayor has said that, “it just doesn’t make sense to have such as large number of minicab drivers in the capital.” According to TFL there are approximately 79,000 minicab drivers in London today – an increase of more than 12,000 over the past year.
One of the main concerns of many black cab drivers is that, despite using an app to calculate fare on a meter basis, Uber’s drivers do not require a hackney license or corresponding taxi insurance. They are however required to have a private hire license and taxi insurance that relates to picking up passengers from pre-booked pickups spots.
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