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-   -   Uber licence revoked (https://www.cableforum.uk/board/showthread.php?t=33705423)

Mythica 22-09-2017 16:31

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 35917471)
It will be a while before Uber actually stop operating, I think a compromise will be found personally. I mean Uber's prices would have been risen eventually - their business model is to operate at a loss to undercut the competition (who aren't backed by venture capital) until the competition is gone at which point they would have a stranglehold.

I do use Uber, find them useful and so cheap, but I do feel conflicted about the way they operate as a business.

I mean there is a touch of arrogance from them about this. The conditions aren't unfair. Have your drivers pass CRB checks, be better and faster in reporting serious allegations in your vehicles and don't use the special software they have to avoid inspectors (they literally have this). Meet those conditions, applied to all other drivers that require a taxi licence, and they can operate.

I should also say that the best thing about Uber is a sense of safety when you're in a foreign city. You know you won't get screwed.

I'm not really up to date on Uber, but I'm not sure why you get a sense of safety from Uber if they aren't CRB checked. How is it any safer than a normal taxi?

Damien 22-09-2017 16:37

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Mythica (Post 35917497)
I'm not really up to date on Uber, but I'm not sure why you get a sense of safety from Uber if they aren't CRB checked. How is it any safer than a normal taxi?

Because you're tracked. A driver can't just ride off with you (more of a concern for women than myself).

But for me it's that other countries do not have as good regulation on their drivers as London. A lot of places have cab drivers that might try and rip you off because there is a lack of standardised prices or lack of enforcement.

I went to Mexico City and you're recommended to only get taxis known by the hotel and let them call it for you. They also tend to jot down the registration number when you get in. This is not uncommon outside of the US or Europe (and even then some cities are worse than others).

Uber doesn't have these problems. They, the company, decide the price and know the drivers. You have a US-based company to follow up any issues you have and a map of the route they took you.

Mythica 22-09-2017 16:58

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 35917498)
Because you're tracked. A driver can't just ride off with you (more of a concern for women than myself).

But for me it's that other countries do not have as good regulation on their drivers as London. A lot of places have cab drivers that might try and rip you off because there is a lack of standardised prices or lack of enforcement.

I went to Mexico City and you're recommended to only get taxis known by the hotel and let them call it for you. They also tend to jot down the registration number when you get in. This is not uncommon outside of the US or Europe (and even then some cities are worse than others).

Uber doesn't have these problems. They, the company, decide the price and know the drivers. You have a US-based company to follow up any issues you have and a map of the route they took you.

Are Ubers tracked worldwide? Aren't most taxis these days too?

Damien 22-09-2017 17:18

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Mythica (Post 35917502)
Are Ubers tracked worldwide? Aren't most taxis these days too?

Uber works via an app which tracks each trip in it's entirety to work out what to charge and where their drivers are in order for the next pick-up.

Osem 22-09-2017 18:50

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 35917496)
Uber did bring a lot of convenience but I think at it's core it's a taxi service. You can call it via an app rather than a phone call but the fundamental nature of the service the same as Addison Lee or any other taxi service that you don't flag down (which is reserved for the black cabs).

I don't see what is different enough about their service that means they think they do not need criminal record checks for a licence for example. I think it's Uber trying to operate without having to worry about regulations in local markets which would impede their ability to expand aggressively. If they had to abide by London's rules then they have no argument not to do so in Paris, or Budapest, or Oslo. That would be a annoyance to a company who are trying to expand massively and quickly. It's a trend you see in a lot of technology start-ups out of Silicon Valley - a contempt for the laws and regulations of external markets.

They want to hover above local authorities and just be 'a service'. I get the appeal because it's frustrating when we don't get something America has because of the burden of those companies entering a new market but at the same time asking for drivers to have these checks and for crimes to be reported is not unreasonable.

I am not sure how the relation between a law and regulation works. However it seems TFL have a set of conditions applied to a taxi licence which includes the proper reporting of crimes, criminal record checks and whatever that business with the health certificate is. I find it entirely believable Uber have tried to get around that. Although the fact they have software to avoid government inspections makes me think they know what they're doing.

If TFL have done something wrong here I suspect it's that they're lying about Uber not complying to appease black cabs. Not in imposing this conditions.

What's different enough or not is clearly for the courts to decide and as with all legal argument which can't be otherwise resolved, both sides believe they have a case. Testing rules/regulations is normal practice in business where there's some doubt what applies and what doesn't. I recall the early days of the Data Protection Act when I raised a succession of queries as to whether or not my business needed to be registered which they could not answer categorically. Their suggestion was to be a test case... It's the same with complex tax law.

In this case the judges concerned will be the ones whose words matter and thereafter the rules will be clearer and obviously that needs to happen.

pip08456 22-09-2017 20:16

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 35917503)
Uber works via an app which tracks each trip in it's entirety to work out what to charge and where their drivers are in order for the next pick-up.

Nothing different to the majority private hire companies in the UK.

Damien 22-09-2017 20:32

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by pip08456 (Post 35917515)
Nothing different to the majority private hire companies in the UK.

Fair enough but this isn't the case in many cities, hence why I use Uber in them.

RichardCoulter 23-09-2017 05:09

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Even if they have no licence in London, they can get round it by using taxis licensed elsewhere.

Maggy 23-09-2017 10:16

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
I'd rather use a genuine London cabbie who has been CRB'd,is insured, knows how to get around London and I can flag down safely knowing I won't get ripped off. Let's hope I continue to have that choice.

Osem 23-09-2017 12:47

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Maggy J (Post 35917543)
I'd rather use a genuine London cabbie who has been CRB'd,is insured, knows how to get around London and I can flag down safely knowing I won't get ripped off. Let's hope I continue to have that choice.

That's everyone's choice to make but not everyone can afford it which is why Uber and mini-cabs became so popular. Can't recall the last time we used a black cab for anything, just too expensive.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41369617

Quote:

Hundreds of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for Transport for London to reverse its decision not to renew Uber's licence.
On Friday, the regulator said Uber was not "fit and proper" to hold a London private hire operator licence on the grounds of "public safety and security implications".
More than 400,000 names have since been added to Uber's petition on Change.org.
The ride-hailing app firm says it will appeal against TfL's decision.
The petition, started by Uber London, says: "If this decision stands, it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive millions of Londoners of a convenient and affordable form of transport."

Stephen 23-09-2017 12:53

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
I've used them a few times in Glasgow and the drivers are always super friendly and know where they are going. however a friend got ripped off once as the driver never stopped the meter and she ended up getting charged £300 as he was driving around for hours.

however the two local private hire cab companies I use most in glasgow now also have an app so you can call and track your taxi. So no real need for Uber here.

Osem 23-09-2017 13:34

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen (Post 35917561)
I've used them a few times in Glasgow and the drivers are always super friendly and know where they are going. however a friend got ripped off once as the driver never stopped the meter and she ended up getting charged £300 as he was driving around for hours.

however the two local private hire cab companies I use most in glasgow now also have an app so you can call and track your taxi. So no real need for Uber here.

If there's not a significant price difference, I think a lot of people just use the easiest, most visible, high profile method of ordering whether it's cabs or takeaways. Why on earth would anyone order food from their local Chinese, Indian or whatever via one of the food delivery apps for example when they could just call them direct? Laziness? All that happens is that the supplier has to provide a cut of his profit to the intermediary. It's clearly not about price, it's about convenience but even so there's very little added convenience for anyone who isn't in the slightest bit organised.

Maggy 24-09-2017 09:07

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
I don't use apps to order food. I ring the venue direct or I walk there.

Osem 24-09-2017 16:48

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Maggy J (Post 35917675)
I don't use apps to order food. I ring the venue direct or I walk there.

Same here. The exercise helps to offset the calories... ;)

richard s 24-09-2017 16:52

Re: Uber licence revoked
 
Some elderly folks do not have smart phones so Uber would not help them.


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