The battle between traditional taxi drivers and the innovative Uber drivers for supremacy continues. For the Uber drivers, such as those in Great Britain, the fight for complete acceptance goes on, but the existence of these Uber drivers threatens taxi drivers who have been plying the roads for several years.
‘High standards’
In 2017, the city of York refused the operating license renewal of Uber reportedly due to massive data breaches and passenger complaints upon drivers.
However, aside from the fact that Uber continues to operate without a hitch in the city fom elsewhere, opposition parties are saying that Uber is still being held to the “same high standards.”
Their license was approved again last year, according to ridesharing media.
Taxi drivers are complaining that York’s roads are being plunged into deep traffic as they ply the road with drivers licensed outside the city.
Sure, authorities have implemented strict measures versus these Uber drivers, but some drivers feel “nothing had changed.”
“I believe Uber should never have been given a licence in the first place because they do not provide any wheelchair accessible vehicles,” they told Ridesharing Forum. “It takes longer to get a person with a chair on board or a guide dog in a vehicle, so local taxis [that provide] that service for people are subject to unfair competition because they will do fewer journeys in a day compared to Uber. There’s also a massive legal loophole because Uber is classed as a ridesharing company and not a taxi company, so that’s how they avoid coming under the same kind of scrutiny as locally licensed Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles, which is kind of shocking really.”
Voices of the Uber drivers
The side of the Uber drivers is even more interesting. Khalil Afzal, who has been working for Uber for eight years after getting his license, feel that getting a license outside York is even easier for others.
Afzal told Ridesharing Forum, “I’ve always said if drivers don’t know the area, they should have to take a test,” Mr Afzal said as he acknowledged some of these drivers may take longer or struggle with jobs if they do not know where they are going.”
Another Uber driver, Peter James, seconds that motion, testifying that passengers prefer Uber because they are cheaper and more convenient.
The side of the authorities
For the authorities overseeing those licenses, the conversation is different.
“We want more regulations and more locally licensed drivers in York,” they stated. “Hackney drivers live and work in York, we pay towards licensing fees, and we spend income locally, but Uber drivers coming from outside contribute little to nothing to York, and the influx has brought in more congestion in York, making the city centre less accessible, and less safe for visitors and residents.”
They, however, are working hard to make the processes fairer for the parties involved.
"We’ve introduced a new policy to ensure high standards of passenger safety and ensure the availability of more electric and low-emission vehicles with a greater focus on improving the supply of wheelchair-accessible vehicles,” York’s city council told Ridesharing Forum.
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