Uber coming to the city
Uber is coming to Palmerston North and one the city’s largest taxi companies is unfazed by the international competitor pulling up on its home turf.
Yesterday, Uber announced plans to operate in the city, among other regional centres, from October.
Taxis Gold and Black operations manager Nicky Dodds said the company was aware of Uber’s reputation for undercutting traditional taxi firms and was ready for the competition.
‘‘[Our] app does exactly the same as Uber, including fixed fares.’’ Nicky Dodds
Taxis Gold and Black operations manager
The locally owned company was already offering the same services as Uber, with its own app, she said.
‘‘[Our] app does exactly the same as Uber, including fixed fares,’’ Dodds said.
She said the firm wasn’t worried about losing drivers to Uber.
Dodds was puzzled about Uber’s move into Palmerston North, saying she thought it was too small a market for the San Francisco-based goliath.
Uber New Zealand manager Amanda Gilmore said the expansion was a ‘‘bold, but well-researched move’’ that would double the number of Kiwi cities in which Uber operated.
Uber launched in New Zealand in May 2014 and operates in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin.
Three years later, the company brought its food delivery service, Uber Eats, to the country. It now runs in all of those cities, except Queenstown, but it won’t be coming to Palmerston North in the planned expansion.