Uber car hire continues to grow

HATED by taxi drivers and loved by those who want a cheap ride, the American corporation Uber, operator of the Uber mobile app, which allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request that gets routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars, has just received a €3.15 billion cash injection from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.

Licensed taxi and private hire drivers are understandably opposed to the company as they argue that they have to pay for enhanced insurance, and in many cases have to register with local authorities and declare income for tax purposes whilst Uber drivers don’t necessarily have the same obligations.

Clearly the Saudi government sees that this is a good financial investment as it will assist the company to expand within the Middle East where the concept of car and taxi sharing is already well established.

The success of this company has seen the rise of a number of similar operations around the world, with probably the most successful in Spain being BlaBlaCar.