Uber is opening up its ride-hailing app to black-cab drivers in the new year, in what it has dubbed a “partnership” with hackney carriage drivers.
However, the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), which represents more than 10,000 members, said it was not consulted ahead of Uber’s “unilateral announcement”.
The LTDA’s Steve McNamara said joining Uber would be “sullying” the trade.
But Uber said a “small number” of cab drivers had already signed up.
A spokesman for the US-based business added it hoped to recruit “several hundred” by January.
Mr McNamara, LTDA general secretary, said there was “no demand for this partnership” from the drivers it represented and that London’s cabbies had seen “significant growth since the pandemic, with record demand for cabs, more work through taxi apps and huge levels of investment being made in new electric taxis”.
“We don’t believe our members will even consider joining the app, given its well-documented poor record on everything from passenger safety to workers’ rights in London,” he said.
Uber has always said it operates “lawfully” in London.