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Uber London loses licence to operate

bbc.co.uk

161–170 of 609 posts

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

If the anecdote and the law are both accurate, then that certainly goes to show exactly how effective all those stringent regulations are. It seems like this one would be simple to check.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#162
post #145
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

The option (2) happened to me many times in a row. One of the intermediate touch stations that you're supposed to whack at Highbury and Islington when you transition from tube to rail wasn't reporting or not working. This meant I got mugged every day for a week.

Getting the cash out of them proved very difficult.

Sure there are arcane and complex rules but the nature of those demands that the liability is on them.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#163
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.

All London black cabs must take card payments. If their machine isn't working, they're not allowed to be on the road.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#165
post #93
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

>> Who said anything about them seeking to become a worldwide cab monopoly? They behave as if they are attempting this, IMHO. >> They are a cab company I believe, depending on which way the wind was blowing, they might dispute this. Their argument is that they are not a cab company, merely a service for connecting drivers and potential passengers. This is how they avoid pesky things like employment laws. >> Any other…

> They behave as if they are attempting this, IMHO.

Every rational company should behave as if they're attempting to become a monopoly, this is a completely meaningless point to argue either way.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#167

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…

What's Lyft like here in London? I just downloaded it, much use?

Lyft is US only

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#168
post #79
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…

> 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.

> Who said anything about them seeking to become a worldwide cab monopoly?

Their former CEO. And not just a cab monopoly, but a car monopoly, period.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/16/technology/uber-travis-kalan...

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

All London black cabs must take card payments. If their machine isn't working, they're not allowed to be on the road.

And that applies to tips?

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#170
post #138
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…

> 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

For now, sure, but you may have missed the word "monopoly".

Fact is, Uber is running an unsustainable business in a lot of markets to gain market share. It's anticompetitive business practice. Free market fanboys will argue that the issue will fix itself after Uber raises prices - thus allowing more healthy competition, but this takes time. Not everyone can drive or rely on public transportation. In modern society, transport is a utility, and to act like people can simply "not use" a taxi service is ridiculous.

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