Uber answers our questions on coming to a new city

Local taxi companies are not happy


Uber finally launched in Brighton in October. The Londoner’s much loved at your finger tip taxi service has come to the seaside city. However, with the new launch has come with controversy, such as would it interfere with Brighton and Hove Taxi companies and eventually drive them out of business? (Pun intended).

In an interview with Brighton and Hove news, a Brighton and Hove City cabs driver has said that Uber will “undercut local firms until they’re busy.”

For those who haven’t used Uber before, it’s a large taxi company that is based around a mobile phone app. It is cashless, and there is no metre. The app gives you a fare estimate before you order it, and is generally cheaper than traditional firms – except for when demand is high in the area and prices ‘surge’.

All seems pretty great doesn’t it?

In the same interview with Brighton and Hove news, the taxi driver also said: “They haven’t got any wheelchair accessible vehicles. They’re not interested but for years the government has been telling us we’ve got to have them. To me, that’s totally wrong and to me Uber are morally wrong.”

But Uber might mean great things for students, seeing as Brighton is a very student populated town. Most students seem pretty happy about the company coming in to their city. One Sussex University student said: “It’s quick and efficient to get when you’re in town but if you’re getting an Uber from campus it can take ages for one to accept your request.”

Another commented saying: “I’ve used it once here and loads of times in Australia, [it’s] way better than taxis.”

I spoke to the UK spokesperson for Uber to ask what they thought about the new venture. He says: “There is always worry surrounding Uber when it is going to be launched in a new place. Often it is just hype.

“Uber isn’t as bad as people think it is going to be for the local community. It’s just a competitor and that will be seen as a threat to the local businesses.’

When I asked him if he had heard anything form the local taxi companies he said: “No. Often when they launch in a new place you get the bosses of other taxi companies warning their employees not to cross over to Uber, saying that they will never get a job with any local taxi firm again. A lot of it is scare mongering.

“When in reality, Uber is actually good because it generates competition, and competition is always, ultimately good for the consumer. This is because it forces prices down and creates a better deals.”

When City Taxis were asked if drivers will be switching over to Uber they said: “Some of the drivers will –  without a doubt”.

Uber has a controversial reputation among traditional taxi firms, but Uber’s spokesperson told us Uber was “good for drivers.”

He said: “Uber is good for drivers because they can decide when they want to work. They have the option to just not turn their app on for that day, and they can chose which rides they accept.

“Also, everyone has an equal opportunity to get jobs, rather than having to be buddies with the centre, the person who is closest to the pick up point will automatically get first dibs, meaning it’s much fairer for people who work with us.”

When I raised the fact that even though Uber is renowned for its low prices, most of the Taxis in Brighton are metre fares which mostly start off at about £2, whereas Uber has a £4 minimum. The spokesperson for Uber didn’t seem to be worried about this and instead explained Uber’s other selling points, such as the app being so easy.

He did comment: “You do get surge pricing depending on demand at the time and prices will fluctuate”, however he also said “because of the way Uber works, we are able to give low fares because Uber drivers can fit in more journeys in their shifts as they pick people up who are closest to them”.