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Posted on the 16th May 2025 in PHTM News
UBER CHIEF CLAIMS ABERDEEN AIRPORT TAXI RULE CHANGE HIGHLIGHTS CITY'S CAB SHORTAGE
Uber has criticised Aberdeen City Council's temporary decision to allow airport taxis to operate city-wide during the Tall Ships festival and Offshore Europe, arguing it proves the city desperately needs more licensed drivers.
The ride-hailing giant contends that the temporary relaxation of operating rules underscores a significant shortage of taxis that is "holding back the city."
The council's licensing committee recently agreed to the temporary measure to address concerns about a lack of available taxis during the influx of visitors for the major events. Typically, airport taxis are restricted to airport runs.
Matthew Freckelton (pictured), Uber's head of cities, seized on the decision, stating: "This move from Aberdeen Council clearly shows that there is an unmet demand for taxis in the city. We know this from the 170,000 trip requests in our app since we launched."
He further claimed: "This huge unmet demand is holding back the city, especially when it comes to major events such as the Tall Ships Races."
Uber, which launched in Aberdeen in October, reports that thousands of trip requests have gone unanswered due to a limited number of licensed drivers.
Mr. Freckelton asserted that Uber's data indicates a need for "over 100 drivers in the city" even during normal weeks.
While Uber is understood to have only a "single digit" number of drivers in Aberdeen, a recent Licenced Vehicle Surveys and Assessment report suggested "no significant unmet demand and no overprovision of private hire cars."
However, the report did acknowledge limited availability during peak times, particularly on Saturday nights.
Supporting Uber's concerns, Aberdeen businessman Bob Keiller, head of Our Union Street, also believes there is a taxi shortage and urged the council to drop the "street knowledge test" for new drivers.
"The number of licensed drivers in Aberdeen has fallen by about half in the last 10 years," Mr. Keiller stated, adding: "We have far fewer taxis, proportionately, than either Edinburgh or Glasgow – we have about half the number we had 10 years ago and it is damaging our economy."
He emphasised: "I don’t care if new drivers work for local operators or international companies, we just need more of them."
The temporary rule change will be in effect for the Tall Ships festival from 6 pm on Friday, July 18, to 11:59 pm on Tuesday, July 22, and for Offshore Europe from Tuesday, September 2, to Friday, September 5.
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