Uber 'nightmare' for Heathrow neighbours in Stanwell

Uber drivers park in roads near Heathrow while waiting for a fare from users of the phone app

Taxi booking app Uber has apologised to residents near Heathrow airport after complaints about anti-social behaviour from drivers waiting for fares.

Councillor Robert Evans said Uber drivers caused "nightmare" congestion for people in Oaks Road, Stanwell.

"I have seen confrontations between residents and the taxi drivers when there have been 15 to 20 in a very small stretch of road," he said.

Uber said it was monitoring the situation closely.

'Drivers urinating'

Mr Evans said Uber drivers were not breaking the law but prevented residents from parking outside their houses and blocked traffic.

"There has been a lot of rubbish and coffee mugs and so on thrown down around here and I have heard plenty of reports of drivers urinating in the road because they wait for a long time," he said.

Uber, which operates in more than a dozen cities in the UK, has removed the nearby village of Stanwell Moor from the mobile phone app so drivers no longer wait there, Mr Evans said.

"Hopefully we are going to get this part of Stanwell decommissioned from Uber as well, so people won't be able to use it in the way they have, but of course that will be pushing the problem further away," said Mr Evans.

Oaks Road, Stanwell is adjacent to Heathrow airport

Uber said it had changed its processes and there had been a dramatic and immediate reduction of the number of cars in the area.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and continuing to advise partner-drivers of our updated policy," said a spokesman.

"We would like to again apologise to local residents and reassure them that we are continuing to treat this issue with the utmost seriousness."