London’s iconic black cabs will soon be hailed on Uber as the company has been able to bag another win over its competitors in the ever-bustling transportation sector. Soon, riders resident in London will be able to hail an iconic black cab in the city.
Uber trip referrals are already open to London taxi drivers, although the program won’t launch until early 2024. According to Uber, some drivers have already expressed interest in having their listings appear on the app.
Uber has been working with taxi fleet owners to integrate the traditional taxi business into its app. Taxi fleets in Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, and Rome have lately joined the ride-hailing behemoth to list drivers on the app. According to Uber, taxi drivers currently complete more than 10% of journeys in Europe and the Middle East.
It remains to be seen if London’s black taxi drivers will flock to Uber.
The 10,000-strong Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association released a statement through which their spokesperson, Steve McNamara, stated that the organization had no intention of “sullying the name of London’s iconic, world-renowned black cab trade by aligning it with Uber, its poor safety record and everything else that comes with it.”
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In addition, McNamara stated that considering Uber’s track record for worker rights and safety, he didn’t think the company would succeed and that he wasn’t aware of any of its drivers signing up to join. He said that prior to Uber’s announcement, the group had not been consulted.
Uber is not always required in order to hail a black cab in London on-demand via an app. Other apps like Gett, Taxiapp, FreeNow, and ComCab offer the taxis. Uber attempts to enter markets with alternative offerings as a result.
Uber has added new transportation booking options to its UK app, including intercity trains, Eurostar, National Express, car rentals, and even airline tickets, in an effort to increase market share and foster app stickiness.
Regular taxi trip dispatches with an upfront fare range and trip destination are sent to black taxi drivers on Uber; they can accept or decline. For the first six months, all new drivers will receive 0% commission. This could lead to an early spike in signups before commission increases to the standard range of 20% to 30%.
