20,000 new Uber drivers on the horizon after London licence renewal drives recruitment push

By the end of the year Uber could have up to 20,000 new drivers working on their platform as they continue their recruitment drive following the announcement that Transport for London granted them a 30 month operator's licence to work in the capital.

Jamie Heywood, Uber’s boss in northern and eastern Europe, told the Evening Standard that demand for trips was up by more than 10 per cent in London compared with pre-pandemic levels — and by far more at the weekends.

He said: “For us our challenge is, as it has been since the pandemic eased, to continue to get more drivers onto the platform... we have fewer drivers than we need to meet the demand we’re seeing so we are trying to recruit drivers in as many ways as possible

“We’re comfortable with our pricing... But obviously if things change, if costs change, if demand changes, we’ll go back in and take another look at it.”

TaxiPoint recently reported that Transport for London made the decision, just days before Uber's licence was due to run out, to issue them a new licence to run for 30 months. The decision came after Uber faced criticism for its business model. But following a High Court ruling, the controversial app was made to restructure it's model to fall in line with TfL's licensing regulations.

Uber have said that their aim is 20,000 new drivers on their platform before the start of 2023.