Uber to let people book trips with local Greater Manchester taxi operators

Uber has this week announced the launch of Local Cab, which will give passengers across Greater Manchester the option to book a taxi with a local operator.

The taxi app, which first launched in Manchester in 2014, has partnered with a number of local taxi firms to provide the new service, something they say will help to ‘meet the high level of demand’ for taxis.

Passengers will now be able to book trips with Street Cars, Scott’s Cars, Lynx Taxis, and Tameside Taxis, all of which will appear as options when booking a ride alongside other choices including UberX, Exec, Comfort and Lux.

@streetcarsmanchester / Instagram

Uber said that while the local operator will set the cost of the journey, cashless payment will be made via the app as usual. Uber will also take what it describes as a ‘small service fee’ on each trip.

The arrival of the Local Cab scheme follows a series of successful launches in other towns and cities across the UK, including Edinburgh and Peterborough.

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Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, said: “Manchester will be among the first cities in England where riders can access both UberX and Local Cab in the same app.

“This will help maximise earnings opportunities for drivers while giving passengers in Manchester more choice, meaning that everyone will benefit. We’re looking forward to launching Local Cab in more UK towns and cities soon.”

@lynxtaxis / Instagram

Naveed Arshad, director at Street Cars and Scott’s Cars, said: “We look forward to making Local Cab available to the people of Manchester. We feel that now, more than ever, a product like Local Cab is needed, with demand for taxis continuing to rise and passengers in need of more options.”

Ehsan Shakeri, managing director at Lynx Taxis, added: “We’re making it quicker and easier for people to get around Manchester, connecting more passengers with taxi drivers via the Uber app.”

And Jason Deakin, director at Tameside Taxis, said: “The partnership with Uber is also enabling us to provide further job opportunities to our drivers and we hope it will attract new recruits to join our fleet.”

Local Cab is available to use across Greater Manchester now.