Taxi firm fears for survival after Uber approval

Uber said it was "consistently trying to grow the marketplace, but in a balanced way"

The boss of a taxi firm has said local companies would "without a doubt" lose money after a council agreed to give ride sharing company Uber a licence to operate in its region.

Westmorland and Furness Council has granted the company a three-year private hire operator (PHO) licence covering south Cumbria.

But Allan Hamilton, who owns Able & Station Taxis in Penrith, said: "I can probably see myself going out of business."

An Uber representative said the number of drivers in the area would be "supply and demand driven" and provide choice for customers. The local authority has been contacted for comment.

Mr Hamilton claimed there had been no consultation on the decision by the Liberal Democrat-led local authority, which he called "disgusting".

"They're just giving our work away to Uber which is basically a middle man," he said.

"We have the local knowledge, know the short way around places and everything, and people know us."

'Balanced growth'

Members of the council's regulatory agreed to grant the licence on Thursday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

An Uber representative gave the meeting no upper ceiling on the number of drivers but said the company was "consistently trying to grow the marketplace, but in a balanced way".

As part of the application, it was revealed that Uber had asked to headquarter their Westmorland and Furness operations in the Ulverston Business Centre on Market Street.

The number of staff in the office would also be "based on level of demand", the representative said.

An Uber spokesperson said the licence would "help boost earning opportunities for local drivers, provide passengers with greater transport options across the area and support the economy".

Additional reporting by Kieran Molloy, Local Democracy Reporting Service.