Liverpool council has demanded more information from controversial internet taxi service Uber more before it can set up in the city.

The ride on demand private hire service was seeking to operate a fleet of taxis in Liverpool.
The application was heard at a city council licensing committee meeting this morning at Liverpool town hall.

However, the chair of the committee Cllr Christine Banks ruled that the meeting would be held in private as they could be discussing commercially sensitive details of the company’s operation.
This was challenged by committee member Cllr Steve Radford who said the committee was not discussing an individual but a company, and Karl Barry from the Taxi Alliance who questioned whether the correct rules had been followed. 

Representatives from Uber told the committee they had “no strong feelings either way” but admitted if asked commercially sensitive questions they “may be more reluctant to answer, just as any company would”.

Last month it was revealed that the internet taxi firm was advertising for a general manager to launch a new branch in Liverpool.

Cllr Banks told the meeting in Liverpool today she had decided to exclude the press and public from the meeting to allow a more open discussion about the company’s application.

Mr Barry told the ECHO he was concerned about the meeting being held in secret, and added: “There is concern about Uber and the reputation that they have both nationally and internationally, and that is not withstanding the clandestine nature of the way the local authority are conducting themselves.”
However, following the meeting the committee decided to defer making a decision on Uber’s application.

Cllr Banks, who had reiterated the legal basis for holding the meeting behind closed doors, said: “The committee considers it needs further information about certain issues relating to public safety.”
She said they want more information about “command and control procedures” and they would “defer a decision until the head of licensing has looked further into these issues and reported back to the committee”.

The US-based firm has revolutionised the taxi market in London since its launch in July 2012 and since has expanded into Manchester and Leeds, making Liverpool the fourth city in the UK to be identified by the company as a suitable site for its operations.

It already has a presence in 45 countries and more than 200 cities worldwide.

Unlike other black cabs or private hire taxi services Uber works by customers downloading an app and entering their credit card information.

To order a ride, customers simply open the app and press a button. Using GPS, the nearest available Uber driver will then be dispatched to the location. No cash is exchanged.

But the service has also attracted controversy and been the subject of protests by established taxi firms, who accuse Uber of unfair business practices and compromising passenger safety.
Last month authorities in the Indian capital, Delhi, banned Uber after a driver allegedly raped a female passenger.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/taxi-service-uber-must-provide-8541117