Taxi firm Addison Lee to debut in New York after controversy in London

Controversial London taxi firm Addison Lee is preparing to take on New York City’s famous yellow cabs, and go head-to-head with Uber, for control of the city’s $3.4bn taxi market.

Addison Lee sparked protests in London after its multimillionaire founder said cyclist deaths were inevitable and often the cyclists’ own fault.

The company, which is the UK’s biggest minicab firm transporting 10 million passengers a year in London, said it would operate 4,000 vehicles in New York taking its global fleet to 8,500.

“After London, New York is the world’s next biggest taxi market – worth £2.2bn [$3.8bn] – so it seemed like a natural step for us as Europe’s largest minicab firm,” Liam Griffin, Addison Lee’s chief executive, said on Tuesday. “We already have a great number of existing corporate clients in New York, so demand is already there and it’s an opportunity with real scale.”

In April 2012 protesters staged a “die-in” outside the company’s headquarters after John Griffin, the company’s former chairman and Liam’s father, wrote in the company’s “in cab” magazine Add Lib: “This summer the roads will be thick with bicycles. These cyclists are throwing themselves on to some of the most congested spaces in the world. They leap on to a vehicle which offers them no protection except a padded plastic hat.

“Should a motorist fail to observe a granny wobbling to avoid a pothole or a rain drain, then he is guilty of failing to anticipate that this was somebody on her maiden voyage into the abyss. The fact is he just didn’t see her and however cautious, caring or alert he is, the influx of beginner cyclists is going to lead to an overall increase in accidents involving cyclists.”

New York cycle and cab safety organisations raised concerns about Addison Lee’s entry to the New York market given its track record in London. Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group, told the Guardian that there was “no room for Griffin’s barbaric, anti-safety views on New York City streets”.

Michael O’Loughlin, campaign director of Cab Riders United, a body set up to represent New York City’s 1.2 million daily cab passengers, said: “Innovation and competition can be good for customers, but we welcome [new competitors] only if they prioritise the safety of New Yorkers inside and out side the vehicles.”

Addison Lee failed to answer questions about how it would reassure New York cyclists that it would make cyclist and pedestrian safety a priority.

Six cyclists were killed in collisions involving taxis last year, according to New York City data. Campaigners said the true figure is likely to be higher as the data is incomplete. In addition to the deaths, there were 2,396 taxi and livery related injuries.

Addison Lee took Transport for London, the government body that oversees most of the UK capital’s transportation, to the European Court of Justice – Europe’s highest court – in an attempt to force the city to allow Addison Lee cabs to use bus lanes.

Griffin had instructed his drivers to use London’s bus lanes illegally, until a high court injunction ruled that Addison Lee could no longer instruct its drivers to use the lanes.

The company said its biggest corporate clients are already in New York, and would be given priority access to the service when it begins later this month. “The extension of the Addison Lee business across the Atlantic is a fundamental part of a wider global roll out that aims to create a truly integrated global network of ground transport providers,” Liam Griffin added.

Addison Lee, which was founded with a single minicab in 1975, was family-owned until 2013 when private equity firm Carlyle Group bought a majority stake for £300m.

The company did not explain whether it had a NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission licence to operate in the city. Uber has endured many battles with the TLC, which licensing New York City’s medallion (yellow) taxicabs and some private hire vehicles. The TLC did not respond to requests for comment.

Addison Lee said New Yorkers who open managed corporate accounts with Addison Lee will be able to book its cars in the same way as their European counterparts: via a dedicated call centre, website and smartphone app within the New York and tri-state area. Addison Lee will offer the same fixed-price standard as they do in the UK and passengers will be able to choose from multiple services including standard, executive and hybrid vehicles.

A new Addison Lee app allows worse for wear customers to select a “take me home” function that means they can book a cab home in just two taps.

“Addison Lee is welcome to conduct business in New York City, but they have to play by our rules – our streets are public spaces, and our cyclists have every legal right to the road that motor vehicles have,” said Ken Podziba, president & CEO of bike education nonprofit Bike New York. “Mayor De Blasio has said that education is a critical part of his administration’s Vision Zero program, and we stand ready to train Addison Lee’s drivers so that they might better share the road with the tens of thousands of mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters that navigate New York City by bike.”