Taxi Driver Online

Almost didn't bother reading this, because the newspaper's headline below maybe suggests there's nothing new here. But one or two interesting stats, particularly the statement that Uber's driver numbers back to pre-Covid levels.


Uber prices soar as ride-hailing app struggles to hire new drivers

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/20 ... w-drivers/

Uber aims to increase the number of drivers on the app from 70,000 to around 90,000 by the end of the year

The price of Uber rides has spiked as the taxi-hailing app struggles to match soaring demand with a supply of drivers.

Data from market research company Edison found that the average cost of a journey had risen by a third since April, from £9 to around £12. Rival operator Bolt has also had higher fares.

Uber said the number of drivers on its app had recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but that it was experiencing unprecedented demand as cities reopen.

Public transport usage remains 17pc below pre-pandemic usage, according to Google data, while in London, Uber’s biggest market, it is 30pc below.

Under the app’s “dynamic pricing”, the price of rides is adjusted based on demand from passengers and the supply of drivers, a model it says encourages more drivers at peak times and manages supply.

Uber has said it plans to increase the number of drivers on the app from 70,000 to around 90,000 by the end of the year.

Spending on Uber rides in the UK dropped to a tenth of previous levels during the initial coronavirus shutdowns last year and fell again during the winter lockdowns.

However, since June spending has steadily been above pre-pandemic levels at both Uber and Bolt, and peaked in late June.

Uber said spending on rides in the UK made up 7.1pc of its total in the second quarter of the year, or around $613m (£447m), compared to $332.8m in the first quarter.

Rising prices amid mismatched supply and demand has seen some cases in which users are charged significantly more than the fixed cost of a black cab, despite Uber historically being cheaper.

In the US, the company has put $250m into bonuses to encourage drivers back on to the road.

Earlier this year, it agreed to start guaranteeing drivers a minimum wage as well as paying holiday pay and pensions, after losing a long running legal battle over drivers’ employment status.

Wonder if that includes Autocab drivers, since presumably a main growth driver (pardon the pun) in the UK is intended to be the Local Cab model.


So demand in excess of pre-pandemic levels, and drivers back to normal numbers? Therefore people unable to get a 'ride' and surge-pricing due less to a shortage of drivers than more demand from passengers than before Covid?

Of course, the articles from elsewhere suggest that it's a shortage of drivers that's the problem, but I'd guess excess demand is also an issue, as people spend the riches they've accumulated during lockdown, and maybe spending more on nights out rather than a foreign holiday, say.

Certainly nothing like that here in east Fife, but maybe Uber's figures confirm that the experience we're reading about in some areas isn't replicated everywhere.

And some of the issues evident in some places may be short-term problems that will ease as demand gets more back to normal levels and maybe the more nervous drivers return, or some new blood starts coming through local licensing systems.

Back like many on here I'm not keen on the idea of lowering standards for what might be short term problems, or simply those arising in the early hours at weekends.

I take anything coming from, or funded by, Uber with a bucket full of salt.

Clearly some areas are buzzing, but most of that is down to a reduction of drivers working completely, drivers no longer working unsociable hours.

No way Uber's number of drivers has reached pre covid numbers, unless as SW mentioned they are now including drivers they now have available via their Autocab tie-up.

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IDFIMH