2023-06-28 17:16:19
They would already be nearly twenty drivers crisscrossing the agglomeration of La Rochelle as well as the islands of Ré and Oléron. Mainly established until now in the big cities and in the South-East, Uber has just announced the deployment of its services in Charente-Maritime. The American giant of the transport car with driver (VTC) now intends to cover the most tourist areas of the department, even if it means spilling over into Royan and as far as Sables-d’Olonne, in Vendée.
Other points on the Atlantic coast, such as La Baule (Loire-Atlantique), the Arcachon basin (Gironde) and the Basque coast (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) are also targeted by Uber. A first. The transnational company has been eyeing La Rochelle for several months and has been recruiting drivers there in order to expand its offer. His goal ? Test the relevance of its model on site within the framework of a “summer campaign”, limited in time.
“We have observed real peaks linked to mobility requests. But we have no quantified objective. What matters to us is to provide the most reliable service possible, ”underlines Camille Vu, development manager at Uber France. Last year, in La Rochelle, nearly 100,000 people sought an Uber driver from the application. “We are able to say that 65% were French tourists, 30% of foreign tourists representing 55 nationalities and 5% of locals”, details Camille Vu.
These requests, mainly concentrated in the summer, would have motivated the deployment of the group in Charente-Maritime. To encourage vocations and “encourage drivers”, Uber currently offers them “financial bonuses”. Their amounts are not known but would evolve in stages, depending on the number of journeys or the distances travelled.
Forbidden to “maraud” near stations
Licensed taxi driver based on the Ile de Ré, Christophe says he is “confident” with the arrival of VTCs. “The agglomeration has about sixty professional taxis. If we do our job well, he believes, there is no reason to be worried. We have a loyal clientele and work with partners. VTCs also do not have access to school or medical transport. »
He, who has been surveying the region for 25 years, will on the other hand pay particular attention to compliance with the regulations. In his sights: VTCs that maraud or park while waiting for a customer. “It’s forbidden but many do it, near the station or at the airport,” says Christophe. According to Camille Vu from Uber, these destinations are indeed among the most sought after on the application, in the same way as the old port of La Rochelle or the campsites on the Ile de Ré.
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