TRANSPORT giant Uber has confirmed that it plans to apply for a licence to operate in Aberdeen this year.
The global firm put the brakes on its last effort to operate in the Granite City in 2019, following controversy surrounding objections to this previous application.
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The ride-hailing service confirmed that it is in talks with the city amid ongoing concerns about taxi provision, particularly in the night-time economy.
It comes as taxi driver numbers continue to fall – the city’s fleet was nearly 850 before the pandemic but now sits barely over 600.
CV19 also forced a number of drivers out of the industry and into to other jobs due to a lack of work.
A spokesman for the worldwide transport firm, which has ventured as far north as Edinburgh and Glasgow in the UK, has now confirmed their intention to apply for a licence in Aberdeen.
“It is correct that talks are ongoing,” he told The Press and Journal.
Uber’s spokesman declined to add more while his company negotiates the formal licensing process
Shortages of taxis have been commonplace at night and weekends for years, as Covid lockdowns forced many drivers into retirement or to seek work elsewhere.
It has been argued that this has held back the struggling city centre as it battles to survive.
