The global expansion of Uber shows no sign of slowing. The app-based minicab company now operates in over 50 countries.
Rivalry between London’s black cabs and the Silicon Valley-based company – valued at $40 billion (£25 billion) – is hotting up. In April, cabbies staged a protest on Oxford Street against Transport for London’s failure to regulate Uber, which they blame for undercutting black cabs and putting hundreds of cabbies out of work. “We are being driven out of town and TfL is doing nothing about it,” said Len Martin, chair of United Cabbies Group.
Cabbies have also criticised mayor Boris Johnson, saying that he has done nothing to halt the rise of Uber. Johnson didn't exactly help to ease tensions when he was caught on camera recently telling a cab driver to “fuck off and die”, as reported by the Daily Mail.
BuzzFeed News headed to Victoria and Paddington railway stations and asked licensed taxi drivers their views on Uber. Many found the topic emotive. While happy to talk, some were not willing to give their names, and only one agreed to have their photo taken for our article.
Matt, 37, a taxi driver with nine months' experience
"My job seems to have got a bit harder because of Uber – it takes a bit longer to get around London because there are so many Uber cars.
"Uber aren't licensed properly, drivers could come from any background ... I wouldn't want my daughter or my nieces to get into those cabs because they've not been CRB [Criminal Records Bureau] checked.
"Black cabs are regulated by the police, Uber aren't. Uber drivers could be anyone: murderer, rapist, terrorist. You just don't know.
"And apparently, there have been cases of some not having driving licences or insurance. Black cab drivers have to go through a rigorous test to do our job."
A taxi driver with two years' experience who did not wish to be named
"Uber has affected my livelihood – I've noticed a dip in sales and customers.
"I see a lot of Uber drivers picking up people on the street when they're not supposed to. Uber is supposed to prebooked. I've seen people flag down an Uber car and the driver will pick them up, which is against their rules."
Chris, a taxi driver with 16 years' experience
"Uber is damaging my livelihood 100% – they're taking lots of work off us. I've noticed a big difference because of Uber.
"It's even worse at nights, I've been told, but I'm a day man. It's bad for us, but it's worse for night men, because cabs are more expensive at night, so it makes Uber even cheaper [to customers] at night.
"I'm behind a ban on Uber. I know plenty of people personally who have used them, on a £10 cab journey for example, they then look at their bank account the next day and they've had £20 taken out, or £15, sometimes a lot more.
"But the thing is, it's not a level playing field – you have an Uber driving leasing a Prius car for £220 a month. My cab rent is £220 a week."
Gary, a taxi driver with two years' experience
"I think Uber has damaged my livelihood and the standard of driving in London. The drivers aren't driving well and don't know where they're going – some are stopping dead in the middle of the road without any indication. Some come up the wrong way on one-way streets.
"Boris [Johnson] should be enforcing the law. The law is that only black cabs can use a meter in London ... but [Uber drivers] have a meter on their phone as an app. The law should be upheld.
"There should also be CRB checks on Uber drivers. I’ve heard there are 9,000 outstanding complaints against Uber at the moment in London, [which are about] their driving, people worried about their safety. The bottom line is the price – if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
"What some Uber drivers do is get together in an area, they make themselves all unavailable so there's no Uber cabs around, so the demand goes up, called 'surging', so then their rates increase by up to three times. They talk to each other through Twitter or whatever to arrange it.
"There's lots of evidence online of people's Uber accounts being hacked. People who have not even got a cab and had £200 taken out their accounts."
Chris, a taxi driver with 20 years' experience
"Uber is so popular because of the gadget generation pushing buttons."
Michael, a taxi driver with six years' experience
"Uber has most definitely been damaging my livelihood. I'm down about 30% on sales compared to last year.
"Once Uber manages to get rid of the black taxis in London, the Uber prices will surge upwards. They're already surging in Manchester. So Uber aren't going to get cheaper, they'll get more expensive.
"A lot of them are using their friends' accounts, or so I've read on Twitter. People are being picked up by an Uber driver, and it's not the same person as the picture on their Uber driver account. So they can operate for 24 hours on the same Uber car.
"I've spoken to Uber drivers on Twitter. They're not happy either, because Uber are just flooding the market, they're taking more drivers on a daily basis, so now the Uber drivers who are on it are not making as much money – they've got to give 20% of their earnings to Uber."
A taxi driver with two years' experience who did not wish to be named
"Uber shouldn’t be here, because if you have a bad taxi service then competition would be welcome, but we don’t have a bad service in London, and it’s unfair competition.
"Uber drivers don't have to meet the same criteria as we do. They're operating without any CRB checks, so why would passengers in London want to ride in a vehicle with a convicted murderer or rapist?
"Uber hasn't damaged my livelihood – people prefer black cabs. I'm angry with TfL, our regulating body, for not supporting us. Terrible."
Dean Young, a taxi driver with 19 years' experience
"I've been out working since five o'clock this morning and I've taken £50 in six hours. Three jobs in five hours, sitting in fucking ranks.
"I've applied for five different jobs. If I don't get a job, I'll be out of here, because I can't afford to run this taxi.
"Are Uber actually popular? Or are they flooding the market? If you go to Caledonian Road you will see 35 to 40 people outside the Uber office, that's about 1,000 drivers a month.
"We're so heavily regulated … If you want a fair playing field, then cut our regulations.
"It took me just under three years to train as a taxi driver, I used to go [to taxi "Knowledge School"] every day, get up at 4am, get on a bike, then go to school until 8pm. I wasn't earning any money while I did that. You do it off your own back, your family support you.
"At the end of the day, London will get what it wants."
We asked Uber to respond to the comments above. Jo Bertram, regional general manager of Uber, said:
"We're sadly not surprised by these comments. Fortunately the public knows none of them are true, which is why over 1 million people in London alone already choose Uber. And we are still growing.
"Ironically, Uber's partner drivers go though the exact same background check as Black Cab drivers – an enhanced DBS check (which has not been called a CRB check for several years). Furthermore Uber is fully regulated by TfL, just like all other private hire operators. All of Uber's partner drivers are fully licensed and insured to carry passengers, and Uber keeps records of these documents, which are rigorously inspected on a frequent basis.
"Uber believes that competition is a good thing, which is why we're focused on creating the best possible product, and on not making up false allegations about others.
"Uber's platform is even open for Black Taxi drivers and the hundreds that have already signed up are now making more money than street hails alone. Any Black Cab driver is welcome to apply to qualify for the service and get access to the millions of customers from around the world that have embraced Uber."