GMB -Brighton And Hove Taxi Section- Confirms, Uber Is Private Hire Operator.

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Once again it appears we see that Uber are trying to escape the fact that they are blatantly a Private Hire Operator with insistence that they are a “Third party technology company”

However.. on May 2nd 2017 two Uber representatives attended the Brighton & Hove Taxi Trade Forum meeting:

These were:

• Helen Fletcher - Senior Compliance & Litigation Counsel at Uber

• Emilie Boman - Senior Public Policy Associate at Uber

The Brighton & Hove Taxi Trade representatives refused to acknowledge the presence of Uber at that meeting of May 2nd 2017 as being a legitimate trade representative .

This was based on a statement made by Mr Fed Jones (Head of Cities for Uber) who was present at a previous Trade Meeting held in December 2016.

General manager Uber, South and South West Fred Jones

At that December meeting Mr Jones denied that Uber was a ‘Private Hire Operator’ insisting that it was a ‘Technology Company’.

At the meeting on May 2nd 2017 the trade read out a statement at the beginning of the meeting stating:

“Until ‘Uber Britannia Ltd’ concedes it is a ‘Private Hire Operator’ it will not be recognised by members of the BHTTFA.”

However the response from Helen Fletcher was.. as quoted in the councils own Minutes were:

“HF who was present as Uber’s lawyer / representative at the Forum meeting confirmed that Uber are a private hire operator in the Brighton and Hove area and are also licensed in 70 other jurisdictions in the UK”.

It is clear and evident that at the Brighton & Hove Taxi Trade Meeting on May 2nd 2017 Uber Britannia Ltd officially acknowledged that it was indeed a ‘Private Hire Operator’

If there is any necessity of proof that Uber Brittania Ltd is indeed a ‘Private Hire Operator’ then this evidence supplied directly from UBL itself should be used.

Andrew Peters

Secretary

GMB – Brighton & Hove Taxi Section