Uber explains why its taxis can still operate in Swindon

Taxi operators and drivers require licences to trade for private hire and hackney carriages in the town. 

The well-known private hire cab and food delivery firm did hold one of these in Swindon until 2018 - but did not renew it. 

Despite this, it has frequently been possible to book an Uber to take passengers from somewhere in the town to another location.

Uber has responded to say that all of its drivers are licenced and it is operating within the rules. 

The matter was first raised when Cllr Jim Robbins booked an Uber to pick him up from the council offices during a scrutiny meeting discussed the matter in 2019.

And more recently, former councillor Vinay Manro has spotted more occasions Ubers have been available.

He shared screenshots from the App showing that it was possible to book an Uber to and from a location in Swindon on April 13, April 15 and April 16 of this year. 

Ubers in Swindon (Image: Vinay Manro)

He said: "As former chair of Swindon council licensing I'm aware of the excellent work they carried out to stop unlicensed drivers operating, but Uber appears to have started up again. At the time of writing an Uber is 12 minutes away. We must do more to ensure the safety of passengers.

"Uber may well have their own vetting process but that does not negate the requirement to hold a licence in the relevant authorities they operate in."

A spokesperson for the council clarified that Uber does not have an operator's licence within the Swindon borough, but there are some circumstances that an Uber could operate in the town. 

"An operator in Swindon can ‘sub-contract’ work to an operator in another authority’s area – such as Uber, allowing them to pick up a booking in Swindon," they said. 

"For example, you book a taxi through Swoop or Veezu and an Uber turns up.

"This should account for a very few bookings through an operator though."

They added: "If there is a specific concern then if we are provided the details of the vehicle plate, date, time and location, we can then contact Uber about the vehicle.

"Whilst Uber can operate in our area through sub-contracting, we wouldn’t expect them to be dominating the existing private hire fleet, without an operator's licence."

An Uber spokesperson said: "Uber operates according to the high standards set across the industry and abides by the same regulations as all other private hire operators.

"Private hire drivers licensed in England and Wales can legally pick up and drop off passengers anywhere as long as the trip is pre-booked and the driver, vehicle, and operator all have all been issued licences by the same licensing authority.

"Every driver who uses our app has been licensed by a local council."