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Uber London loses licence to operate

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#201

Post by talldan »

mino wrote: post #145
jmkni wrote: 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…

That's quite interesting. Option 1 has happened to me a few times with an Oyster card, and I've always had issues claiming refunds, receiving this message: "We have been unable to process your refund application, This is due to a technical error."

Since switching to using my Monzo card, I've had this issue one time and received the refund no problems. Not sure if that's coincidental.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#202

Post by kbart »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #195
kbart wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why many people prefer small, local cab companies that pay license fees and taxes to a local budget.

In the US, I don’t think I’ve ridden in a small, local cab company whose cars didn’t smell like cigarettes and was barely legal to drive, and often had drivers trying to scam you. It was always nice expensive black car service, or shitty local taxi company, which was a super last resort. The transparency and accountability that Uber brought has been preferred by everyone I know, and people are voting with their dolla…

It might be due to the fact that in most parts of Europe there's a cheap and good public transport available, so cabs must compete with it too. In USA, there's not much to choose from, so cabs have local monopolies, hence higher price and lower quality service.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#203

Post by dagaci »

Regardless of the merits of losing the London licence - which will almost certainly be temporary. I hope there will be some other group to take advantage and bring competition.

London Black cabs complain too much... about _everything_ .. yet I have not heard about them modernising.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#204

Post by osrec »

Uber as a company is immoral from time to time, however their service is great, and I'd be sad to see it go from London. TfL operates one of the most expensive public transport systems in the world, and is happy to license black cab drivers (who in my experience, can be rude and are an absolute rip off a lot of the time). Not only that, black cab drivers in my area regularly drive through zebra crossings while people are on them, but I am yet to see an Uber driver do this (I'm sure they do as well, but black cabs drive around London with a sense of arrogance and entitlement that I find most irritating).

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#205

Post by dx034 »

cjsuk wrote: post #162
mino wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You didn't get mugged. Please don't downplay muggings. Getting mugged is much worse than paying too much because of a software error. Tfl always reimburses and they pay out to any bank account, you just have to call them for the details. I can understand that it's annoying but that wasn't mugging.

Did you report the faulty purple reader? Those are used by several thousand people per day, I've never seen card readers out of service for more than a day.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#206

Post by moogie »

zimablue wrote: post #71
scaryclam wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Did you read the comment you replied to?

It specifically says that people who miss the last train get cabs. So yeah, you've not really disputed anything they said. You like to get Uber? That's nice for you. I just use my local minicab company as they're almost as cheap and way more reliable. The price difference is only massive if you're silly enough to ask a black cab to take you 20 miles. Otherwise it's not really that much, nevermind "massive".

Also, if you're spending lots on public transport, just get a damn travel card. Transport's only expensive for tourists buying each on every journey. Londoners know how to keep their costs down, which makes me wonder if you're a tourist or business traveller who doesn't actually live here.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#207

Post by dx034 »

cjsuk wrote: post #127
dx034 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'd not sure I'd call the AL drivers professional. A number of them are complete psychopaths around the Heathrow area.

More so than cabbies or Uber drivers?

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#208

Post by mittermayr »

abbot2 wrote: post #185
vixen99 wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that applies to tips?

It's England. You don't tip here.

Well, in restaurants now the tip's already on the bill, unless you want to make your entire group or date uncomfortable by "talking to the waiter about taking it off".

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#209

Post by gsnedders »

andygates wrote: post #55
anilgulecha wrote: post #11

Full details: https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/911175207871762432 Criteria failed on: 1) Criminal reporting 2) Medical certificates 3) something about DBS checks 4) Use of Greyball to identify and block regulators. Edit: Updated to new tweet.. they deleted the original

Hmm, does that mean they used Greyball in London, or just the known sleazy uses? British regulators, just like CARB, have famously little sense of humour for stuff like that.

AIUI, the regulator had evidence that Uber had used Greyball in some markets (i.e., the known uses), and Uber were unable to convince the regulator that they had not used Greyball in London.

Re: Uber London loses licence to operate

#210

Post by PaulRobinson »

eadz wrote: post #178

While I don't particularly feel good about the business model and lack of employee rights etc, one thing I prefer Uber for over Black Cabs is the pollution. Many Ubers are Toyota Purises. Black cabs have 2.7L Diesel engines which contribute to London's terrible air quality. Especially as I often see black cabs without passengers driving around - not sure if the're looking for rides or not, but there is no reason for…

Priuses can't take wheelchairs, have a wider turning circle and have other drawbacks that make them unsuitable for black cab workloads.

That said, the UK is committed to eradicating all petrol and diesel cars over the next 22 years, and the black cab drivers are looking at what you're talking about: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/11/black-cab-t...

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