Taxi disruptor Uber is on the hunt for disused storage and industrial space around London and the South East to create a portfolio of Uber car parks.
The company has appointed BNP Paribas Real Estate’s logistics team to find sites to help it reduce customer waiting times, boost its geographical coverage and prevent its cars clogging up congested areas such as those around airports.
The firm will consider working with car park operators and landlords as well as acquiring sites itself.
While plans are still at an early stage and a target for sites has not yet been set, preliminary work has focused on Heathrow, where taxi queues during peak times can be hundreds of cars long. Last year complaints from residents in towns surrounding Heathrow airport about congestion and confrontations caused by drivers waiting for airport pick-up jobs prompted the airport to dedicate a parking area for private hire vehicles.
Uber already operates in 20 UK towns and cities, including Birmingham, Brighton and Manchester. However, waiting times for customers outside of London and on the edge of the capital are longer than in central London because fewer Uber cars populate the roads.
By having a dedicated place for Uber drivers to wait, Uber believes that more drivers will be attracted to join the company and that local councils, which must grant licenses for Uber to operate, will be less concerned by the disruption that could be caused. Sources close to the process said early discussions with local authorities about the proposals had been positive.
Uber will add another layer of competition to the lucrative car parking market. With an increasing number of car parks being lost to development in the South East, competition with other sectors as well as car parking operators for land and development sites is fierce.
However, Shapoor Naghshineh, managing director of RCP Parking, said that parking operators would be receptive to the idea of working with Uber.
“In Brighton and surrounding areas we have a few car parks and we have noticed that some [competing car parks] have closed for development, which increases demand,” he said.
“Because the supply of sites is reducing, landlords are asking for more and more rent. Operators are always looking for new sites, so if Uber bids, it will be up against competition from other car park operators. It would be easier for it to work with operators rather than compete with them. This could be good news for any car park operators sitting on vacant space.”
Uber facts
- Founded: 2006 in San Francisco, CA
- Value: £45bn
- UK market presence: 20 towns and cities, 40,000 licensed drivers, 1m trips per week
- Worldwide market presence: 570 cities
