131–140 of 609 posts
This could simply be a case of Uber not adding enough value for independent drivers who don’t need Uber’s regulatory avoidance scheme to get on the road in the first place.
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To be honest, few people here in London bother with taxis. Public transport is very good, can be faster than sitting in traffic, and is cheaper. Most folks ordering taxis either don't know where they are going, missed the last train or are wealthy enough to not care about the cost. Uber literally made no impact on the quality if life to your average Londoner and won't be missed.
Public transport isn't great - often cramped and with delays. It's expensive - if anything involves bus then tube then for two people Uber Pool is often cheaper. Uber is often faster, and it's widely used and supports a massive amount of employment. Most people don't order taxis much daily true, but they do widely order Ubers because there's a massive price difference. And on nights out, taxis are often used because…
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It doesn't need to be connected to a server if the meter is periodically attached to a computer that downloads the data. That said I have no idea if that's something they do. I am now going to try to find out. --edit-- it's not easy to find data on this. So far I have found out that most taxi meters have to be taken in to an office or depot to get the fare-structures updated...
Here's the spec requirements for a taximeter: http://content.tfl.gov.uk/taximeter-specification-1.pdf There's no requirement to log information (let alone store it for future upload), only that the taximeter is audited (for distance accuracy) every 12 months or so, and that it has updated fare structures (which modern ones do over GSM/GPRS).
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The tube is fine for the most part but it can be a drag going from the eastern parts of London to LHR directly (or to Paddington or Victoria)
There are lots of private hire car firms, Addison Lee springs to mind immediately. And practically every street in the city has a minicab firm...
I've had great experiences with taxis, but also appalling ones... At least Uber seemed to be trying to solve that problem - shame they decided to solve a real problem while being a shamelessly immoral company.
If they can't or won't reform then excellent, let's be rid of them. I don't want to give any business to a company that are seeking to become a worldwide cab monopoly, and squirrel away any profits to the US. We have a perfectly healthy cab ecosystem in my city, app-driven and with fare competition and city regulation. Which I suppose is why Uber, though present, hasn't really taken off here. That said, talk of profi…
> a company that are seeking to become a worldwide cab monopoly Who said anything about them seeking to become a worldwide cab monopoly? They are a cab company, expanding globally. Any other company can do that too, if they want.
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This has happened to me before. I wrote to Uber's support and they recalculated the correct route and refunded me the difference. Did you try that? This sort of thing happens with black cabs outside airports from time to time but with Uber you at least have some sort of way of getting your money back.
Me too. Literally a one line complaint and a refund in a few hours.
Try getting money out of a black cab.
When I have reported black cab drivers misleading passengers, lying about pricing and regulations or bus drivers driving dangerously and being rude to everyone, TfL are totally uninterested. They give the impression that they know the scams operate and don't care. It's an interesting comparison with my Uber experience, which has been almost flawless and issues are usually fixed by Uber themselves promptly.
If they can't or won't reform then excellent, let's be rid of them. I don't want to give any business to a company that are seeking to become a worldwide cab monopoly, and squirrel away any profits to the US. We have a perfectly healthy cab ecosystem in my city, app-driven and with fare competition and city regulation. Which I suppose is why Uber, though present, hasn't really taken off here. That said, talk of profi…
You don't have to use their service
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Same experience here. Nothing done about a virtual mugging where the cabbie had no idea where he was going, shouted at me and told me I was a cunt because I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it and pulled him up on it. I rounded his fee down to the nearest £10 and told him to sue me. I’ve seen black cab drivers shouting “Uber scum” and spitting in the windows of Uber drivers before. This isn’t want I and my wife wante…
This is where prepaid mastercards which sync up to an app on your phone come in really handy. You get a push notification instantly as soon as a contactless transaction goes through so you know right away if you've been ripped off.
If they can't or won't reform then excellent, let's be rid of them. I don't want to give any business to a company that are seeking to become a worldwide cab monopoly, and squirrel away any profits to the US. We have a perfectly healthy cab ecosystem in my city, app-driven and with fare competition and city regulation. Which I suppose is why Uber, though present, hasn't really taken off here. That said, talk of profi…
> I don't want to give any business to a company that are seeking to become a worldwide cab monopoly You don't have to use their service