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Uber London loses licence to operate

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#471

Post by JumpCrisscross »

astura wrote: post #438
cjsuk wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve lived in London for over 35 years. It’s common parlance. That kebab shop was a mugging. You were mugged in the apple store. Etc etc.

I consulted three dictionaries, including a British one, before writing that comment. Your use very fringe at best and is very inappropriate anywhere else, as it was pointed out to you.

> Your use very fringe at best and is very inappropriate anywhere else

New Yorker here. Perfectly fine usage there. “The cab driver robbed me” is our local variant.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#472

Post by PaulRobinson »

robk wrote: post #443
PaulRobinson wrote: post #189

Londoner here. The license is not being renewed not because TfL isn't interested in innovation (they actively encourage it), not to retain power for the black cab drivers, and not because London isn't interested in companies like Uber operating here. It's because of the rapes. The Metropolitan Police (the part of the UK police force that polices London), has objected to their license. In 2015 alone, they had to deal…

I would deeply miss them if Uber went away. Speak for yourself. I prefer not to overpay black cab drivers with consistently bad, racist attitudes. I think in a fair world the taxi drivers should be available for those that want them (like Mercedes Benz Uber Black options).

If Uber is only going to be available in a model where your female family, friends and colleagues are at increased risk of being raped, are you OK with that?

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#473

Post by henryaj »

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).…

> Failure to properly check medical certifications

I can't see why doctors forging documents for people that they later use to become drivers is anything to do with Uber. The article even says those doctors did the same for drivers applying to other minicab companies.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#474

Post by JumpCrisscross »

confounded wrote: post #451
gadders wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only would it be an unpopular move, it would throw approximately 30,000 drivers out of work.

Not really. Almost all Uber drivers in London used to be minicab drivers (or work for e.g. Addison Lee), and the pay, rates, customer-base etc. are similar.

> Almost all Uber drivers in London used to be minicab drivers

Source?

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#475

Post by [deleted] »

harryh wrote: post #222
adventured wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, you're arguing the majority of companies over, say, a $50 billion market valuation in the US are hiding all their profit in the Caribbean and none or very little of it is reaching the US tax system. Conveniently, a few minutes going through public financial statements disproves that outlandish, comical premise. 3M, McDonald's, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America, AT&T, Delta, UPS, Disney, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Ho…

Not all their profits. Just the profits that occur outside of the US. The US corporate tax system is relatively unusual in that it attempts to tax not just profits earned within it's borders but worldwide profits for any company incorporated within the US. So what US companies tend to do is incorporate subsidiaries in tax friendly locales like the Caribbean (Ireland is also popular) to avoid paying US corporate taxes…

[deleted]

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#476

Post by dbbk »

vertex-four wrote: post #385
tomblomfield wrote: post #372

I don't think the Mayor of London or TfL really expect to shut down Uber. It would be a deeply unpopular move. There's an acceptance that Uber has improved things for riders, albeit at the expense of the Black Cab industry, and London wants to welcome innovative technology firms. However, I also suspect that Uber hasn't been as co-operative as TfL would like on several issues mentioned, and so this feels like a warni…

They already had a warning shot four months ago, when their license renewal was denied in favour of a temporary renewal for four months. This one is the next step in the process. Uber isn't magic - if there's pent-up demand for a company that fills Uber's boots, one will pop up. The issues TfL have with Uber aren't to do with the service they provide, it's failing to comply with TfL's administrative requirements. You…

For sure, a lot of the value proposition of Uber could be seamlessly be replaced by a different company. However one thing that Uber has that is totally proprietary to them is their global mindshare. For example, when I go to the US, I use the Uber app whenever I can, because it's the exact same experience as at home and I know what I'm going to get. For travellers, this continuity of experience is great.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#477

Post by collyw »

vr46 wrote: post #85
collyw wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"While I agree that London has great public transport" This must be a different London from the one I was in ten years ago.

Lived here all my life, no idea what you mean, it's always been great, and even when it was run-down it was still better than nearly all other cities at the time.

Thats the problem. You never experienced anywhere better. I mean they only recently got an underground that operates past midnight. Barcelona has had that for years, its way cheaper than London, and no one here seems to think it is anything special.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#478

Post by vidarh »

Jaruzel wrote: post #413
UK-AL wrote: post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had black cab drivers insist that I can't use my card, and that I must get out. I've had cab drivers refuse to drive me to certain parts of London because it's inconvenient for them. They are also really expensive.

Black Cabs in London are wonderful, except: 1. When you need one at about 10pm in the City, and stand on the street corner for ages watching dozens of them go by with their lights off and no passengers. 2. When you are less than 1/2 a mile north of the Thames, and the cabbie refuses the ride because he 'doesn't go south of the river, mate' 3. Same as #2 but 'doesn't go north of the river, mate' 4. Same as #2 and #3 b…

In nearly 20 years of relying extensively on black cabs as I don't have a drivers license, I've never experienced a single one of the above.

Sounds like you're exceptionally unlucky.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#479

Post by collyw »

matthewmacleod wrote: post #379
collyw wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"While I agree that London has great public transport" This must be a different London from the one I was in ten years ago.

Well—aside from the fact that London's public transport was pretty good ten years ago—it's not the same, no. There have been substantial improvements in the past 10 years, including the expansion of the Overground service, new rolling stock all over the place, capacity improvements, some 24-hour running at weekends, clawback of TfL Rail, system-wide contactless card support, improved bus services, the imminent arriva…

It was shit then. I experienced it.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#480

Post by vidarh »

shamas wrote: post #255
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…

"healthy cab ecosystem"? Have you lived in outer London? If you're out as far as one of the houses outside Brixton, the cab system isn't even in existence, let alone healthy.

I live in Croydon, zone 5, much further out than Brixton, and have no problem relying on black cabs several times a week, on top of at least half a dozen minicab companies.
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