Uber approved in former ‘Local Cab’ launch city of Plymouth, despite local concerns

Uber has been granted a license to operate in Plymouth –the city where it launched its ill-fated Local Cab service in 2021.

Plymouth councillors granted both Uber and rival app Smartzi five-year licenses to operate in the Devon city, to the consternation of local taxi firms. In its license application, Uber said it planned to operate up to 160 private hire vehicles in Plymouth.

Ben Wildman, owner of local operator Easy Cars, said he was worried that Uber could take away his customers and drivers. He told the BBC: “If they’re taking customers and taking drivers, there are fine margins in running a taxi firm. If you lose a few drivers it could be severely detrimental to the business.”
Wildman said there had been a shortage of taxi drivers in Plymouth since the Covid-19 pandemic, but that had been eased as Plymouth City Council scrapped a knowledge test in January 2024 in a bid to encourage more people to become drivers.

John McVicar, chief operations officer at TakeMe Plymouth, said Uber’s arrival would be bad news for the city. “There is not enough work in Plymouth as it is,” he said. “This will cause a lots of good drivers to leave. Uber don’t bring drivers, they take from other companies, so it will be the same drivers refusing the same jobs. It won’t help you get home at night, and it won’t be cheaper.”

The taxi licensing committee acknowledged that Uber launching in the city might harm other operators, but said the city was short of cabs: “Officers recognise that if this application is granted it will potentially affect other private hire operators in the city – the committee is reminded that this is not a factor to be considered when deciding the application.”

In 2023, the council reported that a shortage of taxis was causing problems for the city’s hospitality sector, and was putting vulnerable travelers at risk as there were inadequate numbers of vehicles late at night. – a view supported by online comments.

A council statement said: “Any driver or vehicle used by Uber or Smartzi would still require a private hire driver’s license and a vehicle license issued by Plymouth City Council to work through these operators.

The council added that the decision to award the licenses was unanimous as both applicants complied with the legislation and policies that govern how taxis operate in the city. “A license has to be granted where all policy and legal requirements are met,” the council stated.

In 2021, Uber chose Plymouth as the first city to pilot its Local cab service, which was designed to enable passengers to book a trip with a local taxi company via the Uber app.

At the time, Uber said its app had been opened up to 16,500 times per month in Plymouth, but passengers had not been able to book a ride there as Uber had no service in the city.

Via the Local Cab service, Uber customers were connected to local taxi firm Need-A-Cab. Uber subsequently rolled out the service out in almost 100 UK towns and cities, with around 70 operators signing up to the service.

But in December 2023, Uber abruptly closed the service, without citing a reason. It is believed that ongoing driver shortages in many of the Local Cab areas meant companies signed up to the service were unable to service Uber demand on top of their own jobs.

Subsequently Uber has resumed its pre-2017 approach of launching in major towns and cities., including Hull, Blackpool and Aberdeen, prompting complaints and protests from local drivers.

Photo credit: Mark Murphy/creative commons