Uber boss slams council for having Aberdeen taxi rival 'representing the industry' in trade talks over Street Knowledge Test

Press and Journal

2 days ago

An Uber boss has slammed the council after being shut out of talks on the industry's future – with an Aberdeen taxi rival 'representing the trade' in discussions over the city's shortages.
The ride-hailing firm's head of cities, Matthew Freckelton, recently spoke out at a taxi industry conference over what he felt were major hurdles in the Granite City.
He claimed that a recent survey on taxi shortages carried out by an independent firm was 'misleading', as he fumed that his firm was never told about it taking place.
Mr Freckelton questioned how fair it is that he is represented by arguably his biggest opponent at trade meetings with the council.
Russell McLeod, managing director of Rainbow City Taxis, serves as industry spokesman.
It all comes amid Uber's fight to have the city's controversial street knowledge test scrapped – which they say hinders their chances of operating a thriving fleet in Aberdeen by challenging would-be-drivers with perplexing questions.
During the Private Hire and Taxi Monthly Expo this month in Milton Keynes, Mr Freckelton took questions from the crowd during a Q&A session.
One of those to grill the Uber boss was Aberdeen taxi driver Luke Hulse, who took issue with Uber lobbying to bin the knowledge test – which the firm blames for only having three drivers in the city.
The contentious exam has a pass rate of 'between 15-30%, depending on the information that has come out'.
Edinburgh and Glasgow do not have a street knowledge test. Uber say this proves it should be ditched.
In response to Mr Hulse, Mr Freckelton said: 'We think that [the street knowledge test] is not in line with Scottish Government 'best practice' guidance.
'That states that, if you are to have a street knowledge test, it should not create unnecessary barriers to entry – which we think it does.'
Mr Freckelton noted that he has had 'lots of new drivers come to our office' wanting to work for Uber, who are subsequently met with difficult hoops to jump through before they can get behind the wheel.
'How much more complicated is Aberdeen to navigate around compared to Edinburgh and Glasgow?' he pondered aloud to the audience.
The Uber boss also hit out at a recent survey which found that there was 'no unmet demand' when it came to taxi drivers in Aberdeen.
The independent Licensed Vehicle Surveys and Assessment (LVSA) body came to Aberdeen for a few days in November to look into the city's taxi issues.
The probe focussed on whether Aberdeen has 'significant unmet demand' for taxis… In other words, whether people often struggle to get a cab home from the centre.
Workers fixed cameras to lampposts at city ranks, watched and counted the amount of time customers had to wait before being picked up.
They also asked various businesses, services and residents about their experiences.
In the end, LVSA concluded that there is not a significant problem in Aberdeen.
But the California-based firm totally disagree with the results.
Responding to Mr Hulse's comments about the survey, Mr Freckelton stated sternly: 'You're wrong. Significantly wrong.
'I know from our own data that we have a significant amount of unmet demand.'
The group's head of cities claims that in the run up to the survey, Uber 'were not told or consulted' about it.
'I have emails between the chair and deputy chair licensing expressing, almost begging, to be able to find a way to provide this data, and I was not furnished with this data,' he added.
'In our opinion, that was a misleading report.'
Continuing, Mr Freckelton told the Expo crowd he has issues with how his firm is represented during talks between the industry and the local authority.
Uber is currently prevented from attending trade group meetings with the council – as only one booking office licence holder is allowed to go.
The current representative is Russell McLeod of Rainbow City Taxis – one of Uber's strongest opponents in Aberdeen.
'I have expressed the perfectly reasonable point of view that it is unreasonable for a competitor of mine to represent my interests in front of licensing officials and councillors,' Mr Freckelton said.
'Yes we want a good, strong working relationship with all our regulators and we had to engage legal counsel to express those views more firmly towards Aberdeen City Council.
'That is the relationship that we want with the council.'
Speaking to The Press and Journal following Mr Freckelton's remarks, the Rainbow City Taxis boss was quick to give his version of events.
He said that whilst he has 'never been against Uber' in Aberdeen, they should still have to 'play by the same rules as we do'.
Mr McLeod said: 'It was an independent survey done by an independent company. Whether I agree with it or not, that is what they found.
'I definitely agree with the findings of the survey. The survey did not suit Uber's narrative, and that's the be all and end all.
'It didn't suit their argument, so therefore they want to diss it.'
With regards to being the sole booking office representative, the taxi firm chief highlighted how there are still six others who fight for drivers in the group.
Mr McLeod told The P&J: 'We've managed for I don't know how many years now [with one booking office representative].
'ComCab don't have a representative there and never have, they seem to be quite happy that a booking office representative is there to look after their interests.'
Aberdeen City Council was approached for comment.