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Uber London loses licence to operate

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#141

Post by cm2187 »

iamben wrote: post #31
sambe wrote: post #16

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.

Last time my (getting rather elderly) mother came to London I told her and her husband to get an Uber as it was easier than them standing in the rain trying to hail a cab. They flatly refused. They'd been told by a black cab driver the night before there was a 'strong possibility' they would get raped or robbed by 'foreign' drivers.

I'd rather be raped that do another ride in a black cab. These things have no suspension whatsoever, and are louder than a truck (which matters a lot if you are trying to sleep in a quiet street). Uber minicabs tend to drive a Toyota Prius which is way more comfortable and silent.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#142

Post by snakeanus »

Nursie wrote: post #40

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…

> app-driven

Does that mean that you can only order for a cab via an app? Or are apps an alternative?

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#143

Post by FreeRadical »

Nursie wrote: post #40

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…

More UK cabs need to start allowing cars payments. Instead they use their local monopolies to force cash use and under declare taxable income.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#144

Post by Aethelwulf »

FreeRadical wrote: post #143
Nursie wrote: post #40

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…

More UK cabs need to start allowing cars payments. Instead they use their local monopolies to force cash use and under declare taxable income.

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/accepting...

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#145

Post by mino »

jmkni wrote: post #129
cjsuk wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

True, but that does not work for TfL because of how they charge you. Details:

http://news.revolut.com/post/146212645837/touch-it-tap-it-re...

I've been charged a wrong amount by TfL a few times in the past, I contacted them (either on the phone or via the webform) and I was always reimbursed. There are basically two situations where you get charged a wrong amount:

1. common: the "touch out" did not work. Just log in and click "refund previous trip".

2. rare: some weird software exception where your trip is charged via a Zone that you did not travel through.

The second happened to me a few times but honestly if I think of the massive amount of complex/arcane/exceptional software rules they must have ...I feel I cannot blame their software engineers :)

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#146

Post by dbbk »

cm2187 wrote: post #126
Nursie wrote: post #40

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…

What profits? Aren't they problematically loss making?

They're loss making by choice so it's not problematic for them at least.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#147

Post by bko »

onion2k wrote: post #105
dandare wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

However, the article would greatly benefit from more factual information. What "threat to Londoners' safety and security"? Be specific please.

Failure to report serious crimes and allowing the driver to continue driving for Uber: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/13/uber-fail... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/uber-drivers-accused-of... Failure to properly check medical certifications: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1897962/investigation-reveals-... Failure to follow up DBS (criminal records) checks (can't find an article about that one).…

More than 400 London cab drivers charged with crimes last year [0]. Not sure if this includes Uber, but from your comment, Uber doesn't report to DBS, so it doesn't. When you judge a service, you should really ask "compared to what". I prefer knowing the name and track record of my driver, not to mention an easy way to report mis-behavior, a history of my ride and ability to share my location. I don't have any stats, but from my experience, these factors greatly increase safety and comfort

[0] https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/over-400-london-cab-dr...

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#149

Post by Nursie »

alexfoo wrote: post #112
Nursie wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

Even more interesting - https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/accepting...

"Every driver must accept card and contactless payments and provide receipts for those payments upon request.

All taxis must have a fully working TfL-approved fixed card payment device fitted within the passenger compartment - a handheld-only device will not be sufficient to meet the licensing requirements. Any taxi found not to meet the requirement will be issued with an unfit notice, which will remain in place until the requirement is fulfilled and the vehicle is presented for inspection."

So it looks like either the story was a little old, or the cab was in violation of the rules.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#150

Post by dbbk »

geocar wrote: post #86
k-mcgrady wrote: post #3

I don't understand why Uber can't get their shit together. In the US they have competition from Lyft and I can almost understand why they have to push the boundaries. In London they have very little competition and therefore don't need to engage is controversial business practices. Personally I don't see what my alternative will be if their service ceases, they have that little competition. Although I am kind of anno…

> none of these are as convenient or cost effective as Uber. I disagree, and let me tell you why: https://i.imgur.com/JITqdiP.png I have blocked out the location of my home and the identity of my "driver", but this guy shouldn't be driving, let alone driving a passenger. I'm never riding Uber again. > I can see the night tube getting a lot more use but I know quite a few people who don't like to take it after having…

> If you're too drunk to ride the drunk train/bus, there are cheap hotels all over London.

Is this serious? You think that booking a hotel in London is a better choice than just getting a taxi home?

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