Taxi Driver Online

Not much to see here - thought headline looked juicy, but there's nothing in piece other than that the licence granted, and the rest is Uber PR spiel.

Of course, the meeting did take place behind closed doors...

Uber wins one-year Birmingham licence renewal

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/m ... m-15795701

The minicab app firm says it picks up Brummies in under four minutes on average

Uber is to continue operating in Birmingham for at least another year after being granted a renewal of its operator licence by the city council.

A licensing sub committee held a meeting behind closed doors at the end of January and unanimously agreed for the firm to carry on until January 31, 2020 when it will be reviewed again.

The minicab app stated it had been 'humbled' by the reaction in Birmingham since launching in the city in 2015.

A booklet, submitted as part of their application, provided a number of statistics about the operation revealing that more than 1,000 drivers licensed by Birmingham City Council are earning money through the app.

There have been more than 15 million trips since 2015 with an average pick-up time of four minutes.

Uber also highlighted a number of their safety features including cashless transactions, the fact that all trips are recorded on GPS and a feature which requires drivers to take a six hour break if they have been 'on trip' for ten hours.

The firm stated it was looking to 'strengthen' working relationships with West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council licensing enforcement.

Uber also has a Memorandum of Understanding with the West Midlands Combined Authority to make transport data available to assist in infrastructure planning decisions in the city.

Fred Jones, director at Uber UK, said: "Since our launch in February 2015, we have been humbled by Birmingham's response to Uber.

"From carrying over a million passengers and helping over 1,000 drivers earn money via the app, we are proud to have had a positive impact on the lives of so many Brummies.

"For the next stage of our journey we are excited about better partnering with the city to help solve some of the urban transport challenges that Birmingham faces, including congestion, air quality, and providing safe, affordable and reliable transport to every corner of the city."