Uber London loses licence to operate • Hacker News Board

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#101

Post by gtsteve » Fri, Sep 22, 2017, 10:55 AM UTC

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…

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.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#102

Post by gtsteve » Fri, Sep 22, 2017, 10:56 AM UTC

klausjensen wrote: post #97

geocar wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

I am not 100% sure what I am looking at in that pic... Does it show that he took a massive detour (presumably to extract more money from you)?

That's how I read it.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#103

Post by zero_one_one » Fri, Sep 22, 2017, 10:56 AM UTC

Herald_MJ wrote: post #84

gtsteve wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's MyTaxi, Gett and Addison Lee has an app. I used to use Hailo before it became MyTaxi. It's certainly not as cost-effective but what I did like were the flat-rate rides you could get. They weren't black cabs, but more like Uber Luxes or Uber Execs and probably 20% cheaper than black cabs. With Uber gone, I'm sure the market would provide something else.

Correct me if I'm wrong here: MyTaxi and Gett are solely for black cabs? This makes them a lot more expensive than private hire. Their UX is also slightly behind Uber's offering. Addison Lee are also overpriced, and are not a company I'm willing to support due to their director's comments about cyclists and public transport. One service you haven't mentioned here is Green Tomato, which have a tolerable app, but seem…

Addison Lee also tend to seemingly employ many drivers who drive as if they're doing their best to kill you, themselves, and any cyclists or unwary pedestrians around them. Worse still, this activity is actively encouraged by Addison Lee's own corporate policy

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#104

Post by mino » Fri, Sep 22, 2017, 10:56 AM UTC

dandare wrote: post #66

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…

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

> What "threat to Londoners' safety and security"?

https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/vv598m/uber-drivers-a...

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#105

Post by onion2k » Fri, Sep 22, 2017, 10:56 AM UTC

dandare wrote: post #66

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…

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).

Use of Greyball to dodge regulators checking on the service: https://www.ft.com/content/2ab3c0e8-0076-11e7-96f8-3700c5664... (not specific to London but they're being sued all over the place for it)

TfL's statement about the ban - https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2017/septem...

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#106

Post by crtasm » Fri, Sep 22, 2017, 10:56 AM UTC

dx034 wrote: post #72

raverbashing wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

Addison Lee is a good alternative. Drivers tend to be a bit more professional, prices are not that much higher and cars are generally nice.

Their previously voiced views on cyclists should be taken into account though.

http://road.cc/content/news/56999-addison-lee-chairman-airs-...

The Keen Group have always been reliable for us (but could hold similar views for all I know)

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#107

Post by emodendroket » Fri, Sep 22, 2017, 10:57 AM UTC

TomK32 wrote: post #62

2T1Qka0rEiPr wrote: post #48

Thinking it through - Uber (indirectly) leads to 40,000 drivers being employed (if I read correctly). I suspect this is just TfL flexing their muscles and Uber will use these 21 days to find a compromise...

I think they are self-employed, and not employed by Uber.

Well, it depends on which way is more convenient for whatever they want to argue at any given moment.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#108

Post by cjsuk » Fri, Sep 22, 2017, 10:57 AM UTC

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.

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 wanted to experience when you’re getting into an Uber literally after she’s had a hospital appointment and surgery.

I’d rather fucking well walk than get in a black cab.

This whole thing is sad. TfL is a total turd bag as well. Constantly getting overcharged on contactless so I have gone back to prepaid oyster. Customer services tell me I’m a dumbass but several people I know have the same problem on the same routes.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#109

Post by k-mcgrady » Fri, Sep 22, 2017, 10:59 AM UTC

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…

1. Your example of a bad trip is extreme. It's clearly awful but out of probably close to 100 trips I've had one where the driver took a bad route (he ignored GPS and got stuck in rush hour traffic in a tunnel). I contacted Uber who gave me a full immediate refund.

>> there are cheap hotels all over London

2. I could get from Brixton to Mile End for £20 (£5 when split between passengers). Find me a hotel for that price.

Finally - my point was that Uber was the only cheap and convenient option. You have not provided an equal alternative. My point was never that Uber should keep their license. I agree with you there are huge issues and hopefully this will spur them to solve them.

Edit: Although the first issue you point out is not your fault in anyway I'm curious whether you were asleep or not during that trip? That's a massive detour in the wrong direction twice. You and the driver both have a map showing your current location and destination. It seems like an easy mistake to quickly notice and correct.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#110

Post by gtsteve » Fri, Sep 22, 2017, 10:59 AM UTC

Herald_MJ wrote: post #84

gtsteve wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's MyTaxi, Gett and Addison Lee has an app. I used to use Hailo before it became MyTaxi. It's certainly not as cost-effective but what I did like were the flat-rate rides you could get. They weren't black cabs, but more like Uber Luxes or Uber Execs and probably 20% cheaper than black cabs. With Uber gone, I'm sure the market would provide something else.

Correct me if I'm wrong here: MyTaxi and Gett are solely for black cabs? This makes them a lot more expensive than private hire. Their UX is also slightly behind Uber's offering. Addison Lee are also overpriced, and are not a company I'm willing to support due to their director's comments about cyclists and public transport. One service you haven't mentioned here is Green Tomato, which have a tolerable app, but seem…

I don't know about now but Hailo (now MyTaxi) certainly used to do regular cars as well as black cabs. You could book them ahead of time and they were quite a good service.

In the early days they were a lot better than Uber, which was quite unreliable in London at the time. At the time I was working late on a startup and I could be there after the last tube had gone so I just expensed a cab home.