The announcement of Uber coming to town is welcome news for some, but a local taxi driver is concerned about the impact it will have on his industry.
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The ride-sharing app will be available in Maitland from March 16.
Maitland taxi driver Geoff McMahon said while it was hard to say exactly what impact Uber would have yet, he believed it would have negative effect on the livelihood and income of cab drivers and owners.
The driver of almost 17 years said in other areas Uber had opened, taxi drivers had seen about a 30 per cent drop in takings.
Mr McMahon said if that trend occurred in Maitland, he would have to consider giving up the profession.
“It won’t be viable for me,” he said.
However, cab owner and director on the Maitland Taxis board, Brendon Young said the effect in Maitland may not be the same as larger cities as the clientele was different.
Mr McMahon said the low price of Uber was hard for taxis to compete with due to expensive overheads.
He said the cost to buy and register a cab was more than $100,000, and then there was the ongoing costs of green slip and base fees.
“To put a cab on the road is $40,000 to $50,000 a year more expensive than Uber,” Mr McMahon said. “It’s not a level playing field.”
However, Mr McMahon said taxis offered a level of safety that Uber did not.
He said taxis all have surveillance cameras as well as a greater chain of command and more government regulations than Uber.
“[Uber] is nowhere near as well scrutinised as the cab industry,” he said. “There is a lot of safety and risk issues that are glossed over for the sake of getting a cheaper ride.”
Mr Young said taxis would be able to compete with Uber through quality service.
“If we can continue to give our customers good service, why would they go to Uber?” He said. “They’re budget for a reason.”
Mr Young said while Uber would target the younger market, Maitland Taxis was also looking to introduce free WiFi as an added service in their cabs.