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Edinburgh George Street private hire access ban could result in legal challenge Mark Bursa Edinburgh private hire operators could mount a legal challenge to Edinburgh Council’s plan to ban private hire vehicles from George Street once it is pedestrianised, while allowing access for black cabs. The £36 million project to turn the city centre thoroughfare into a cycling street with wider pavements was described by operators as “ludicrous”. The scheme will introduce new traffic restrictions, although permitted vehicles such as delivery vehicles and postal vans will be allowed to enter between 7pm and 10am. Under the current proposals, that window will also apply to back cabs – but not pre-booked private hire cars which make up the majority of the city’s taxis. Council transport convener Cllr Scott Arthur said up to 5,000 taxis enter the street every day and that keeping this level of access would
Uber pulls out of Israeli taxi market and ditches Italia food delivery arm Mark Bursa Uber has announced it is pulling out of Israel and shutting its food delivery business in Italy, claiming it has not built sufficient market share in either market. A spokesperson said the moves were “in line with our efforts to focus on markets where we have opportunities for sustainable growth”. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has said Uber will invest only
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George Street will be pedestrianised under the ambitious plans.
diminish the aims of the scheme. But Kevin Woodburn, boss of private hire firm Capital Cars, has called for “fair and equal treatment” of the trade’s two sectors, saying either both types of taxi should be permitted on George Street or neither should. Woodburn told the transport committee that operators could mount a legal challenge against the council over the new rules. “We fail to understand the reasoning and
in markets where it can be the largest or second largest player. Uber trails Gett Taxi and Yango in the Israeli taxi and private hire market, while delivery rivals Just Eat and Glovo are ahead of it in the Italian food delivery sector. The company, which relies on self-employed contractors for its delivery service, said around 50 Uber employees and thousands of non-employee couriers and restaurants would be affected in Italy. However, Uber said it would continue to expand its mobility service in Italy, where it works with dispatcher IT taxi. The company’s biggest markets in Europe are the UK, France, Spain and Germany. Uber said it was seeing strong adoption by taxi drivers in Europe, who use the Uber app to supplement their regular business.
the logic,” he told councillors at a meeting. Woodburn said two-thirds of the vehicles licensed by the council are PHVs, adding: “The majority of the vehicles servicing the public are not allowed access while the minority are – it makes no sense to us.” Describing the situation as “ludicrous”, he said there was no data to back up why this decision had been taken. “My concern is that we once again are being put in a
position where we have no choice but to go down a legal route,” Woodburn added. Cllr Arthur said the more traffic restrictions are relaxed, “the more of the value of what we’re trying to do is lost”. He said: “Even allowing taxis in the evening, we think there would be about one a minute coming in. “During peak times, we’ve got data that shows between 3,000 and 5,000 taxis come into George Street in a day. If we allowed that level of access, while it might be good for businesses, in the short-term we’d lose a lot of the value we’re trying to deliver on the street if 5,000 taxis come in in a single day.” The George Street transformation is now set to commence in 2025 – a year later than previously planned. Pavements will be widened to 4m with planters, shrubbery and relaxation spaces along the street. The latest designs also confirmed trees will be planted at either end.
Bolt looks set to launch in Preston after council approves new operating base Uber’s main ride-hailing rival Bolt has been given permission to open a bureau near the Dock Estate in the Lancashire city of Preston. Bolt currently operates in 18 cities in the UK including London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Newcastle and Manchester. Uber does not have a direct operation in Preston. Instead it operates indirectly through its Local Cab system. A number of established private hire firms have signed up, including Ashton Allied Cabs, New City Taxis and Brownhill Corporate Hire. Bolt Services UK Ltd has been granted a Certificate of Lawfulness to open its base in Preston, changing offices in Unit 5 of Albert Edward House near the docks into a private hire licensed operating centre. In its application Bolt said the office would not have radio masts, flashing lights, signage or waiting rooms for customers and drivers, vehicles, counter services or large numbers of visitors. A spokesperson said: “The office will be used for administrative purposes and to provide access to Bolt’s driver, vehicle and booking records, which are held digitally. It will also be used to provide access to its cloud-based technology, which automatically accepts and allocates bookings.” The office will be used during normal office hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday. Bolt expects less than one visitor to the office per month and the premises will not be accessible by the public. There will be no passengerdriver interactions held at the unit, nor will there be any cars on site waiting, or private hire vehicles registered to this address. —Mark Bursa
JULY 2023