Uber to launch taxi ‘membership club’ in UK

UBER is launching a UK subscription service in a scramble to lock customers into using its app for taxis and food deliveries as the cost-of-living crisis bites.

The company said it will expand Uber One – the company’s answer to Amazon Prime or Deliveroo’s Plus service – to the UK, Germany and Mexico.

The subscription, which costs $9.99 (£8.15) a month in the US, includes discounts on journeys, free delivery on takeaway orders and more highly rated drivers. Uber One is seeking to turn its rides business and takeaway service from an occasional convenience to a regular part of people’s lives, in the same way that many subscribers to Amazon Prime turn to the website as their first online shopping destination.

It did not say how much the subscription would cost in the UK or when it would launch. A spokesman said: “We know users across our platform have been asking for a membership programme, and we’re looking forward to launching this for them soon.”

However, the launch comes as many squeezed households are cutting down on monthly subscriptions. More than 1.5m UK families cancelled all video subscriptions in the first quarter of the year, according to research firm Kantar.

Uber’s shares have fallen by almost 45pc this year amid a widespread tech sell-off and renewed fears of a price war with its biggest US rival, Lyft.