If Uber can make it in Bradford, its future is assured
- Summary:
- Uber has arrived in Bradford, West Yorkshire. It's the last place I expected to see them but so far it is working out surprisingly well. Here's my assessment of why this is happening. It's not all about Uber.
A unique environment?
Of all the places I travel, Bradford is kind of unique. To say it is multi-cultural is a massive understatement. Bradford is more like a Heinz 57 varieties melting pot although dominated by those whose roots trace back to the Asian sub-continent.
Outside of the sub-continent, Bradford is arguably the curry capital of the world and has been named Curry Capital of Britain for six straight years. Of one thing I can be sure, local Asians are entrepreneurial to the max and that's now showing up in Uber.
Bradford's taxi and private hire business is almost 100% Asian owned and operated. Until very recently, that market fell into two camps: the local council licensed 'white' cabs and private hire. My understanding is there are roughly 2,000 cars for hire around the town. My local private hire firm claims 55 alone. The incumbent market is now challenged by Uber. What's happened?
The last week, I've used Uber almost every day for multiple journeys. And it's great. The drivers arrive on time, they're chatty and polite, they know what they're doing (mostly) and the fares are on a par with the already ridiculously cheap private hire firms. How is this different from the firm I would normally use and which is less than 100 meters away?
I never thought Uber could make it in Bradford. Average fares for a 5-6 minute ride are £3. I've never paid more than £6 for a ride across town and an airport run of 15-20 minutes usually comes in at £15-17. Bus rides are cheap and the service is very good but then not always convenient.
My view was that this combination of services and the fact there are so many cars on the road meant that Uber would struggle to muscle in. What I didn't count upon were several factors, some of which are unique to Uber but one of which is unique to this region.
The Uber advantage
The Uber app provides a degree of certainty, hence my comment about on-time arrival. I think in all the years I've been using the service around the world, Uber has only failed to provide its service on less than the fingers of one hand. My local taxi company will tell me: 'Coming now,' which can mean 'now' or it can mean 5, 10, 15 minutes later. I never know.
Uber drivers know they are being rated and part of that is their willingness to hold a conversation with the passenger. I've never met an Asian person yet who doesn't want to talk and boy do they love to chat! That makes it a fun ride for me.
From what the drivers tell me, Uber changes its prices to suit local conditions. This is a critical competitive component and means that the prices I pay today are on a par with what I would otherwise pay for a local private hire, or rather it would be if it wasn't for the custom of paying 'the usual,' which of course, you need to know in advance.
All of the drivers tell me they are doing good trade with the local student population. That makes sense. When a ride for up to four people comes in at less than £5, it is hard to beat by any other means plus there is the security of not needing to carry cash and all from the convenience of your smartphone.
An entrepreneurial spirit
The unique part comes from the entrepreneurial spirit I mentioned earlier.
With one exception, every Uber driver I have met is Asian, come from private hire and believes they do better with Uber. That is astonishing given the relatively low fares and Uber's 25% cut. Again, and from what I gather, this comes from the fact that Uber keeps the drivers working fairly constantly at certain times of the day and with very little 'down time.'
Couple that with the fact there is a concentration of large towns and cities within a 20 mile radius and you can readily see that this group of Uber drivers enjoy a unique advantage over the local trade.
The one inexperienced driver I met seemed more than willing to sacrifice earnings in order to learn how Uber works for him. That's something I've not heard before but gives you an indication of the way local drivers are thinking.
As far as I know, Uber wasn't available locally until recently but one driver said that they've already managed to sign on some 200 drivers. If correct, then that's a big addition to a market that is already well served and at modest rates.
The question comes - how will this hash out over time? When private hire took off in the area about 35 years ago, the 'white cab' trade thought they were a flash in the pan. That didn't work out so well and the 'white cab' trade has all but gone away, restricting itself to city centre pick ups when the pubs and clubs turn out and those days when the rain is too much for the hardened locals to get on a bus.
My take
It is early days and I've been in cities where the Uber service has changed over time as more drivers come on board and where local councils have taken a stand on where Uber can and cannot operate.
Right now, I suspect that those relatively few Uber drivers are enjoying something of a honeymoon period but even so, the ones I have met are far more attuned to the local market than I've discovered in other towns.
The one market I'd like to see Uber crack is the local airport. Today, that is run on a monopoly basis and the fares reflect that reality, having risen some 20% in the last year. If Uber can make a dent there then we can expect to see a blunting of the large West Yorkshire towns and cities.