Uber accused of Oxford 'back door' taxi plan with 001 Taxis

Uber has been accused of trying to enter Oxford's taxi market "through the back door" by its city council's deputy leader.

The ride-hailing app plans to allow Oxford firm 001 Taxis to use its software in a first for the city.

Tom Hayes said the local authority has "concerns" and its legal team is reviewing the arrangement.

Uber said its Local Cab trial is an "exciting first step" into the city taxi market with "local operators".

It plans to allow app users in Oxford to find a 001 Taxis driver, which other taxi firms worry will affect competition.

Mr Hayes said neither Uber or 001 Taxis, which is licensed to operate in Oxford, contacted the city council about their arrangement before it was announced publicly in June.

"The waters are murky, whether you define Uber as an operator or a platform provider," he said.

"We have not licensed Uber in the city. We haven't done that because we wanted to support the local taxi trade, whether that's private hire or Hackney."

Uber agreed to buy its biggest UK rival Autocab in August 2020, which ran a ride-booking app for minicab companies across the country.

At the time, Autocab's platform had access to more than 75,000 drivers in areas where Uber did not operate.

An Uber spokeswoman said: "Every month, we see thousands of people in towns and cities across the UK where we currently don't operate open the Uber app and try to request a trip.

"Launching Local Cab in Oxford is an exciting first step in connecting these riders with local operators."

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