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Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

bbc.com

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Re: Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

#331

Post by geocar »

dominotw wrote: post #291
oarsinsync wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know the answer to this, but I suspect it may have something down to the difference in penalty for fraudulent behaviour. At the very least, if the only penalty is getting booted off the 'platform', getting added to Uber's platform is relatively cheap. Getting added to the black cab 'platform' requires getting licensed, which takes years and costs a lot of money. I'd imagine that fraudulently impersonating a b…

Obviously solution is monopoly :D

Well, it's regulation.

Re: Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

#332

Post by SilasX »

Symbiote wrote: post #284
jclos wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The affordability is only one thing that draws people to Uber. The convenience of the app and the fact that the fare is prepaid (and therefore there is no incentive for the driver to fuck around to inflate their fare) are imho at least as important. If the fare is known in advance I can make an informed decision about whether I can afford this ride. Taking a normal taxi is just always a gamble: will they try to win m…

In London, for decades there have been competing services to the black cabs: minicabs. They had to be booked in advance (by phone, but that translates easily to booking by app), and the price had to be agreed in advance. From my understanding, this might be called "limousine service" in the USA, although unless you make a special request it will just be a fairly normal car. Mobile phones and then apps made the border…

Stupid question: did they actually translate minicabs to an easy smartphone UX before Uber got involved?

Re: Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

#333

Post by RodoBobJon »

BurningFrog wrote: post #270
Crashbat wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except then you can't eat? It's not that it's not profitable, it's that the earnings drivers make are meager compared to what people need to sustain themselves. You make it sound like anybody who's on minimum wage just doesn't realise that they could go elsewhere for higher wages!

Always fascinated by the idea that paying someone $8/h is a crime, but paying them $0/h is perfectly fine. Such enormous cognitive dissonance. We humans are so good at that.

The idea that minimum wages kills jobs is not as well supported as you might think. People commonly take overly-simplified econ 101 labor market theories as gospel when the empirical evidence about the effects of minimum wage increases is decidedly mixed: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/11/20/20952151/shoul...

Re: Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

#334

Post by jotm »

72deluxe wrote: post #293
BurningFrog wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Takeaway: Maybe London should spend some effort becoming more naviagatable, instead of demanding professional drivers acquire a PhD level education (the Knowledge) to find their way.

No offence, and I can see that you've been downvoted but how do you actually propose solving this "unnavigable" problem? By bulldozing existing property that is owned by multitudes of private landowners and building new roads or something else?? Honestly, what's your solution?

If this was a real thing, I'd say building bridges/roads above the city would be the only viable (yet extremely difficult) solution. Maybe underground in some places. Would look pretty dystopian probably

Re: Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

#335

Post by throwaway35784 »

harel wrote: post #198

I'm not a fan of companies like Uber or AirBnB who attempt a violent takeover of a market. However, as a consumer who needs to get from A to B, or stay at some random city, I find those services invaluable. The black cabs in London are expensive, never around when you need them, and until recently might have refused card payments (now they just seem unhappy about it). At the very least I was hoping Uber would make th…

You're not a fan of them but you'll gladly pay them your money? Sounds like righteous hypocrisy to me.

I'm not a fan of them and I've never paid them any money, neither one. They are scum bags.

How will the world improve if you reward what you don't like?

Re: Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

#336

Post by balfirevic »

gerbilly wrote: post #127
najtsirk wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is unpopular, because the premise is so completely wrong. What exploration? You want to drive for Uber, drive for Uber. You do not want to drive for it, don't. As simple as that. What I heard from drivers is Uber has by far the best tech for predicting/connecting routes. And I am really tired of of screaming "workers rights" all the time.

>And I am really tired of of screaming "workers rights" all the time. That line sums up this entire site. Talking about workers rights is politics, and we can't talk about that. Let's just invent things and concentrate on that shall we? It doesn't matter what effect it has on people or society, that's for other people to think about.

> That line sums up this entire site. Talking about workers rights is politics, and we can't talk about that.

This place is full of politics.

> Let's just invent things and concentrate on that shall we?

I wish! But, for better of for worse, that's not what you'll find here.

Re: Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

#337

Post by jotm »

pjmlp wrote: post #258
thathndude wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. I'm always amazed at how quickly people crap on Uber. In hindsight it's not a particularly revolutionary service. But does everyone remember how much the Taxi system sucked?

On the German city where I live, they are pretty alright.

Prices are ridiculous, though, compared to England (except London)!

Re: Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

#338

Post by twic »

alkonaut wrote: post #315

You can't hail a regular taxi in London with your phone still ? Why? How do you get them? Call? Or do you have to wave your arms? It's been 10 years since you could first do it in e.g. Stockholm with normal licensed taxis. Edit what I mean are regular taxis, not "black cabs", "minicabs" etc. I mean the iconic taxis. If you can't hail those, why not?

There are several apps for hailing black cabs. There are also services where you can phone to order a black cab that have existed since before that:

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/taxis-and-minicabs/book-a-taxi?intc...

There isn't a central service that gives you access to all cabs, though.

TfL used to have a service where you could text them, and they would text back two phone numbers for local minicab firms near you. That was really useful for getting home when you were in an unfamiliar part of town.

Re: Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

#339

Post by cryptozeus »

alkonaut wrote: post #315

You can't hail a regular taxi in London with your phone still ? Why? How do you get them? Call? Or do you have to wave your arms? It's been 10 years since you could first do it in e.g. Stockholm with normal licensed taxis. Edit what I mean are regular taxis, not "black cabs", "minicabs" etc. I mean the iconic taxis. If you can't hail those, why not?

Can’t do this in usa as well.

Re: Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

#340

Post by notkaiho »

chosenbreed37 wrote: post #238
nailer wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Black cabs only work in the center They're bad in the center too. I live in London bridge / SE1 and black cabs still illegally refuse to take me home from say, Shoreditch because they can't be bothered crossing the river.

>... because they can't be bothered crossing the river LOL

"nah mate, don't go sarf of the river, me"
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