Taxi travel in Bath is to undergo a revolution as controversial firm Uber has been granted a licence to operate in the city.
The smartphone-based cab operator is expanding across the UK and now Bath & North East Somerset Council has received an application from the company to act as a licensed taxi operator within B&NES.
The application has been considered in line with the Council’s policies and procedures and – as all the necessary criteria have been met – the application has been granted.
Uber, which was founded in San Francisco in 2009, is different to traditional taxi companies, as passengers hail a driver using an app on their smart phone, agree a fare prior to their journey, and pay using an account which they have already set up.
Cllr Martin Veal (Conservative, Bathavon North), Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “We have recently issued a private hire operator’s license to Uber Britannia Ltd which uses a smart phone application to connect passengers and drivers.
The company has operated in other cities such as London, Manchester and Bristol for some time now and offers a new type of service to passengers.
Public safety is of paramount importance to us and we are reassured by the company’s intention to use only Bath & North East Somerset Council vetted and licensed drivers and vehicles.
This is a relatively new type of service and we will continue to monitor it very closely to see how it works.”
