ADDISON LEE slashed its off-peak and weekend fares today as the battle for customers in London’s overcrowded taxi market continued.

The minicab hire company is fighting competition from apps such as Uber, which this week made a bid for black cabbies to join it.

Addison Lee is cutting about a third from night-time and weekend fares, and claims customers could save more than £30 on some popular routes.

It claims to offer “one of the most competitively priced” minicab services in the capital, but Londoners willing to spend a few minutes searching with rivals can find better deals.

The discount applies to journeys booked through a mobile app or on the telephone all weekend. It also applies to weekdays from midnight to 5am, from 9am to 5pm and 7pm to 9pm.

For example, a journey from the West End to Heathrow was previously £61 but the new off-peak fare is £39, and Clapham to Islington has been cut from £29 to £20. But the cheapest fare offered on rival app Kabbee from Marble Arch to Terminal 5 is £28, while Clapham Common to Angel is about £16. Other apps include ride-share firm Lyft and black cab apps GetTaxi and Hailo.

Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said the latest Addison Lee price cuts are “indicative of the race to the bottom that London’s found itself in”.

Addison Lee made no promises that peak fares would not increase in the future to make up for money lost in the promotion. The discount also does not apply to account bookings.

Chief executive Andy Boland said: “We now offer one of the most competitively priced minicab services along with the best drivers, the best cars and the best customer service.

“Londoners are sick of being charged vastly inflated surge prices at weekends by new entrants.”

This week, Uber offered to end its conflict with black cabbies by allowing them to work commission-free through its app for a year. The LTDA declined.

http://goo.gl/8GE1xE

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UBER PARIS

 Two top Uber executives appeared in a Paris court today on charges that could send them to prison and give the company one of its most serious legal challenges to date in France.

The San Francisco-based company shut down the low-cost UberPop service, which connected users to non-professional drivers and prompted the criminal charges.

But it continues to operate in France, despite repeated strikes and sometimes violent tensions with taxi drivers, and is not outlawed entirely as it is in Spain and Italy.

Charges against Thibaud Simphal, general manager for France, and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, chief for Western Europe, include running an illegal taxi operation, commercial deception and violation of French privacy law by illegally stocking, processing and recording personal information

They face up to five years in prison and a €300,000 ($338,000) fine each if convicted.

Uber France is also charged and faces a €1.5million ($1.7 million) fine.

The two managers were notified of the charges directly by the Paris prosecutor's office just after being held in custody for hours last June.

A spokesman for Uber France, Thomas Meister, said it is 'extremely unusual to be summoned to appear in court directly by a prosecutor' after a police investigation.

He also questioned the lack of oversight from an investigating judge or the French agency that specialises in privacy violations.

'Our lawyers don't even know what we are exactly blamed for' especially in the privacy counts, Meister said ahead of the trial.

More than 200 UberPop drivers have been fined under fast-track procedures in France and one was handed a 15-day suspended prison term, but today's trial is the first for Uber managers in France.

Uber France has already been convicted of commercial deception and fined €150,000 ($170,000) over UberPop.

French taxis drivers argue that Uber sidesteps taxes, social charges and licensing fees, and endangers passengers.

Uber calls the French system outdated and says it needs radical reform to keep up with technological changes.

'We are not challenging labor law', said Meister, the Uber France spokesman.

'We rather put order into the system. We are the symptom of a problem, not responsible for the problem.'

Meister complained critics point the finger only at Uber, not at similar smartphone app-based services like Heetch, a French startup. 'There are double standards', he said.

The French government has kept up its offensive with document checks of drivers suspected to be illegally moonlighting for Uber and similar services.

On Thursday, hours before the start of the trial, police teamed up with anti-fraud investigators to check taxis and car services at Paris' Gare de Lyon train station.

Several chauffeurs were fined for illegal taxi activity after being caught carrying a single passenger.

The drivers have particular status allowing them to carry a minimum of two passengers, but many skirt the regulations and use platforms like Uber to pick up single passengers.

'We are talking about transporting people. So when you are in this business you need to have a qualification and respect the rules,' said Laurent Grandguillaume, the new mediator in the conflict between taxis and Uber-like alternatives.

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