Taxis in Medway are going to get more expensive

Plus the rebel alliance grows, NIMBYs angered by brownfield housing, a new commuter coach option

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Taxis in Medway are going to get more expensive

I don’t write about taxis or their fares often, mostly because I’m under 40 and thus modern services like Uber offer a simpler, easier, and cheaper alternative to our traditional cabs.

The issue of the taxi trade in Medway is a constantly divisive one. Local cab drivers argue that companies like Uber are using unfair practices to drive them out of business.

They aren’t completely wrong. Uber has never really found a route to profitability, supported by large sums of venture capital that allow it to operate in an area at an effective loss to take most of the trade before jacking up fares. It’s a similar model that has allowed supermarkets to gain almost unrivalled dominance over our grocery market.

That Uber can even operate in Medway is controversial in itself. Uber operates locally using licences from Transport for London, effectively meaning any driver licenced by TfL can ply their trade in Medway, with no local regulation. This isn’t inherently unlawful as the system allows them to do this, but it does mean local oversight of their operations isn’t particularly possible.

Medway taxi drivers and councillors in 2019.

Over the past few years, the Medway Licenced Taxi Driver Association has fought bitterly against Uber operating in our towns. In a rare moment of cross-party co-operation, both the ruling Conservative and opposition Labour groups agreed to do everything in their power to force Uber from our towns. This hasn’t been entirely successful as they are still operating here, but it’s a clear statement of intent as much as anything else.

In recent years, local cab firms have tried their best to compete with Uber. Vokes, Windmill, and Rainham Cabs spent £200,000 to launch an Uber that vaguely looked like Uber but has a fraction of the functionality. Fares are opaque. Most cabs still lack the ability to take payments by card. None of this is conducive to winning back those of us that have had a taste of the simplicity of Uber.

It’s also hard to imagine how the local trade would manage even if Uber disappeared overnight. A recent report from the Medway Messenger has the owner of Vokes saying they have to turn down 20% of their requests for cabs every day. If you can’t rely on your cab company coming and getting you when you need them, why wouldn’t you look elsewhere?

With all of that in mind, it appears that taxi fares in Medway are about to get substantially more expensive.