Forgot about this one - it's a couple of months old now, and nothing particularly new, but underlines what I see as an element of elitism and entitlement about the whole thing up in Press & Journal land
For example, he might as well ask why he had to go to Manchester to see Springsteen rather than in Aberdeen?
But that's not questioned, and instead it's about why Uber isn't at his beck and call whenever he feels like he needs a cab
Ben Hendry: Uber is everywhere, so why are there still so few in Aberdeen?https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/ne ... -aberdeen/Uber has become the norm in most big cities, why is Aberdeen lagging behind with old-fashioned licensing rules keeping numbers to a minimum?Whether everyone likes it or not, Uber has become the norm all over the UK.
On a recent weekend away in Liverpool with a group of friends, it became second nature to call on one to get us from A to B.
We weren’t quite in more Ubers than pubs, but it must have been close.
The thing which struck me most, though, was just how Uber has become ubiquitous.
Visitors quite simply just expect them now. And lots of them. Never any reason to doubt they will be minutes away at any given moment.
This is where Aberdeen, despite granting the firm a licence last year, still falls down.
And it made me worry for our reputation when unwitting tourists end up here and find out we only have something of a small handful available.
Despite ongoing efforts to resolve taxi shortages, can we really be taken seriously as a destination with archaic policies in place like our Street Knowledge Test keeping the Uber fleet at a minimum?
What is the current state of play with Uber in Aberdeen?If you’re wondering, I was in Liverpool with three old friends to see Bruce Springsteen playing at Anfield.
With our Airbnb about a 10-minute drive from the city centre in one direction, and the football ground itself another drive away in the opposite direction, you can see how we came to rely on the app-based service.
My colleague Alastair Gossip holds the unique distinction of being the first person in Aberdeen to ever hire an Uber.
He booked one last October as soon as the licence was granted.
Several months on from his journalistic jaunt, I’m not sure he envisaged himself still being part of such an exclusive club of Aberdeen Uber users.
I popped across the office to ask him if he’s heard of any improvements lately. He checked his phone. At 3pm on Monday, August 25, there were none available to hire.
Uber has never been all that willing to declare the actual number of drivers here, though it’s been reported as a “small handful”.
Why does Aberdeen still have this Street Knowledge Test?For the uninitiated, aspiring Aberdeen drivers must pass a strict test showing off their knowledge of the city before being granted a licence
It’s so strict that barely anyone passes it.
I’m aware of some of the arguments for it, some taxi drivers say it’s not purely practical – passing it shows a level of commitment and dedication to the craft.
But technology is marching on. And the test is coming in for increasing scorn with satnav so commonly used to help guide people around the place.
As Uber take-off stalls in Aberdeen, what are other cities doing?And it’s not just Uber who think this.
Bristol is scrapping its version of the test, noting quite sensibly that most journeys are pre-booked anyway – so drivers can look up the route on satnav before picking up punters.
Councillor Sarah Classick said: “The sections where they have to have that memory of where every pub, club and restaurant is in Bristol is a bit outdated, and seems to be a bit of a barrier to good drivers passing the knowledge test.”
That may strike a chord with readers who have followed our coverage of Aberdeen’s taxi shortages…
Last year, we revealed that the boarded-up, long-closed Neptune Bar near Fittie was a part of the Aberdeen test.
Meanwhile, there are mounting calls to do away with it in East Ayrshire too.
So where does this leave Aberdeen?Well, as documented by Our Union Street leader Bob Keiller a few months ago, Aberdeen’s taxi shortages risk letting us down on the big stage.
And while we all eagerly await the next big tourism bonanza like the Tall Ships, we can only hope that things have moved on by this time.
We are speeding somewhat eerily into a future where driverless cars are going to become available.
Aberdeen can’t spend its time arguing over a test designed to locate obscure pubs while technology makes it look like a bigger joke with each passing year.
Now Uber is being granted a seat at the decision-making table, let’s hope things can speed up.
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