‘I never thought I’d say Uber and Healy-Rae would be a force to be reckoned with’ – Uber Ireland boss believes its ride-sharing services ‘has to happen in Ireland’
Louise Kelly Twitter Email May 31 2017 4:52 PM It would be difficult for many to remain positive following the challenges Uber has faced since establishing a base here, but the boss of the ride-sharing app’s Irish arm bucks the trend. Our strict transport regulations have meant that, so far, Uber has been blocked from…
It would be difficult for many to remain positive following the challenges Uber has faced since establishing a base here, but the boss of the ride-sharing app’s Irish arm bucks the trend.
Our strict transport regulations have meant that, so far, Uber has been blocked from rolling out the very aspect of its product that had ensured the app’s global success; facilitating paid journeys in private cars.
According to Kieran Harte – who looks after the firm’s operations in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and parts of England – the main challenge has been that Uber’s services here have been constrained to entirely working with taxis.
“We’ve sent four submissions to the NTA [National Transport Authority] and we haven’t had any responses in writing back from those in the last 18 months. What is it about what Uber is proposing that doesn’t work?,” he told independent.ie.
”We certainly haven’t been told ‘No’ at any stage. We understand that, at the moment, it comes down to changes in legislation or just a change to the NTA rules; so it is in their remit. We’re very hopeful about that.”
With the same criminal background checks carried out, in addition to the standard valid tax and roadworthy tests, Mr Harte remains frustrated that Ireland is not doing what “most modern cities around the world has done; opening their arms up and embracing this”.
“The infrastructure is there; we’re not asking any government to give us billions of dollars to build the infrastructure…the roads are already there, the cars are already there,” he said.
”It’s going to have to happen in Ireland, there’s no doubt about that.”
In attendance at the TechConnect Live event at the RDS to speak about ‘The Future of Urban Mobility’, Mr Harte was determined to portray Uber’s mission in Ireland – an ambition he believes is not understood here.
“Irish people think that Uber is just like a Hailo [now My Taxi], which works with just taxis – such a small subset of cars on the road,” he said.
“I’m a big Hailo fan – and it’s great – but there’s 10,000 cars on its platform; that’s a really small portion of cars that are available. What happens in Ireland is that, when it gets busy, taxis switch off the apps and focus more on picking up off the streets so that they won’t have to pay commission to use the apps. It’s just not a reliable service.
“Uber’s mission, however, is to do what Hailo is doing but include all the private cars in Ireland – of which there are two million,” he added.
Read more: Uber Irish boss thinks company will prevail in battle with regulator
The direct Uber versus Hailo comparison is the second roadblock Mr Harte believes needs to be overcome, but there’s yet another challenge – the perception of transport needs between urban and rural communities.
“While the taxi service might be great in central Dublin and the canal, it’s just not reliable outside of that; and we’re a country where there are huge connectivity problems outside of our city centres,” he told independent.ie.
Mr Harte also made reference to controversial comments made by Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae during debate around stricter penalties for people caught drink driving.
“We’ve got politicians in the Dail talking about repealing drink driving laws because rural communities don’t have the transport…I never thought I’d say that Uber and Healy Rae would be a force to be reckoned with, but there it is.”
But while remaining optimistic about the impact – and the potential – the new ‘centre of excellence’ in Limerick Uber opened early 2016 will have, further investment cannot be guaranteed if the full extent of the product offering cannot be rolled out.
“We’ve been diverting a lot of resources; for example, I started off as the GM of Ireland, I’m now looking after Scotland and Wales – and parts of the UK,” he said.
“We’ve had staff move up to Belfast and to the UK…the business itself, using taxis and limousines in Dublin, it’s a profitable business – but we don’t have the appetite to invest and grow a business outside of Dublin.”
Online Editors
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