Uber gets green light to operate in county

Uber has launched in an area where it claims there is a "strong demand" for its service.

The transport company has been awarded a licence to operate in Wiltshire for the first time, after a drop in the number of taxis and drivers licensed across the county since the pandemic.

Jason Salter, the council's head of passenger transport, said falling vehicle numbers has a "significant impact" as taxis are a "vital element" of school transport solutions.

An Uber spokesperson said they're "pleased" to now be operating in Wiltshire and they see a '"strong demand" for the service in the county.

David Curwen, who runs Valley Wide Taxis, said independent companies in towns such as Chippenham and Trowbridge could see trade negatively impacted by the arrival of Uber, but that operators in rural areas may avoid the new competition.

"Uber operates on short, frequent runs," he said. "People have tried to book Ubers here already and Uber drivers accept it, but then they decline it because it's so far away.

"Our average journey takes half an hour. Whereas Ubers rely on five minutes and ten minute jobs."

Curwen said places like Chippenham, Trowbridge, Salisbury could be impacted by Uber but "for us little rural villages, I don't think it [Uber] will work".

Meanwhile taxi driver Pavel in Salisbury, who did not want to give his surname, said the arrival of Uber in the city could make things "really difficult" and "take a lot of business".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, since the start of the pandemic, the number of licensed drivers in Wiltshire has fallen by more than a fifth, which is 218 drivers.

The council had previously resisted issuing Uber an operating licence. However, there was no legislation to stop the company's drivers licensed elsewhere from working in the county, which was "generating a lot of complaints and bad feeling within the trade."

In a report to councillors, the council's head of service passenger transport said: "Falling vehicle numbers has a significant impact on our Passenger Transport Unit as taxis are a vital element of the school transport solution.

"Uber will drive forward levels of service within the county and provide a better service to the public."

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