Evaluating the impact of Uber on London's taxi service: A strategic review

Abstract

This paper considers how London's private hire vehicle (PHV) industry and the regulatory authority, Transport for London, can react to Uber's well‐funded, aggressive entry into the marketplace, outlines the new challenges they face, and describes the strategic directions that are available to the PHV industry for their survival. Using a narrative enquiry, the study explores the impact from the co‐evolution of 3 megatrends (information and communication technology advancement, paradigm change, and public preferences) to understand and interpret the methods being deployed to compete, issues faced by drivers, stakeholders' perceptions of regulations, and the options for the future direction of the industry. The research concludes that the impact has been profound, with themes emerging such as passenger safety, driver employment status, sustaining operators' service levels, and regulatory changes. Moreover, there is a premise that short‐term planning is dominant, which raises concerns regarding the move towards electric and autonomous vehicles. The research also recommends practical methods for small private hire operators to review their business models in the form of a roadmap. An app is also proposed in order to aid in implementing a stakeholder engagement strategy and to manage future regulatory requirements. Finally, suggestions are made for further research to identify the future direction of London's PHV industry, considering the Mayor of London's draft transport strategy, and to clarify drivers' employment status. The paper may be useful to taxi service operators and regulators in other international cities that are faced with the disruptive nature of smartphone technology to their traditional working practices.

The collaborative economy and taxi services: Moving towards new business models in Spain

“…Two-sided platforms also segment customers based on their business and non-business profile (Skok & Baker, 2018). For example, the websites of some platforms state that they are more focused on passengers in the corporate market (Cabify and JoinUp).…”

A solution for the chicken and egg paradox in taxi e-hailing platforms: some evidence from the MyTaxi – FreeNow case

“…In this field of research, the literature about Uber case is predominant (Dudley et al, 2017;Meelen and Frenken, 2016;Isaac, 2014;Cramer and Krueger, 2016;Skok and Baker, 2018;Urbinati et al, 2018). The debate on the belonging of the Uber platform to the sharing economy is still of interest and current (Bardhi and Eckhardt, 2012;Belk, 2014;Böcker and Meelen, 2017;Botmsan and Rogers, 2010;Frenken and Schor, 2017;Meelen and Frenken, 2016).…”

“…Most of the studies in this field have focused on the Uber case (Dudley et al, 2017;Meelen and Frenken, 2016;Isaac, 2014;Skok and Baker, 2018;Urbinati et al, 2018), but less attention has been paid to the other new players that have appeared in the current scenario and how they have entered the arena.…”

Working everywhere and every time?—Chances and risks in crowdworking and crowdsourcing work design

“…Some collate the platforms to CS (Prassl and Risak 2015), whereas others see them as work-on-demand via apps and GE (De Stefano 2016) because it is not a mere online activity. However, the service changed the entire sec-tor of transportation in some countries, and, for example, has effects on health and well-being of the drivers (Skok and Baker 2018). We recommend relying on the definition of Estellés-Arolas and González-Ladrón-de-Guevara (2012) because their approach incorporates the most influential articles with a systematical approach and definitions, and is most sufficient with our differentiation of CW within CS.…”