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Controversial taxi service Uber could be on its way to Newcastle, with the firm admitting it’s looking at launching in the city.

The American service, which sees passengers request a journey via a mobile phone app and signed up drivers respond, has in the last year become one of the world’s biggest tech firms, operating in 55 countries and more than 200 cities worldwide.

And Newcastle City Council has confirmed that it has issued a licence for the multi-billion dollar company to potentially make the North East’s capital the next stop on its rapid expansion.

“Uber’s plan is to be in every major city in the UK and we have a number of options of where we want to be - including Newcastle,” a spokesman for the firm told The Chronicle.

“We’d need a team on the ground to run it, and we need the relevant licences from the council, as in the UK all Uber cars are licenced by their local council.

“But once we have that in place, and the drivers on board, then we’ll be in a position to launch.

“At this stage we’d hope that’s not too far away for Newcastle, but we’ve no firm date yet.”

A spokesman for Newcastle City Council confirmed it had issued a licence to Uber to operate as a private hire taxi firm within the city.

“We have recently issued a private hire operators licence to Uber Britannia Ltd which uses a smart phone application to connect passengers and drivers,” he said.

“They have operated in London and Manchester for some time now and offer a new type of service to passengers.

“We are reassured by their intention to use only Newcastle vetted and licensed drivers and vehicles.

“This is a relatively new type of service and we will continue to monitor it very closely to see how it works.”

Uber’s pricing is similar to metered taxis, although all hiring and payment is handled exclusively through the app and not with the driver.

In some cities, if the Uber car is travelling above a certain speed then the price is calculated on a distance basis, otherwise it is based on the time taken, and at the end of a ride the fare is automatically billed to a customer’s credit card.

But Uber also employs a system that varies prices depending on the number of taxis operating and how many people are looking for a ride - which has at times proven unpopular, with fares rising to many times the usual rate.

The company has also faced a backlash from regulators in some cities and countries - Denmark’s transport minister said he believes the app is “contrary” to Danish law, UberPop - the company’s ridesharing app - is banned in Brussels, was banned in France in January and a court in Frankfurt last month issued a nationwide ban on local transport services using Uber and UberPop smartphone apps in Germany.

The National Taxi Associations North East director Chris Chandler said he would be interested to see whether passengers would use the service, and whether the company could survive in the region.

“I think it’s a case of wait and see,” he said. “An outfit tried something similar a couple of years ago and lasted only a few months.

“And Newcastle is not a huge city compared to the likes of Manchester or Birmingham, so will it survive in the economic climate of the North East?

“I’m keeping an open mind but it will be interesting to see if people in Newcastle will be willing to pay what Uber are asking, as there are already a number of very good companies in the North East that already do the work.”