to be furious they have banned Uber from London?

[Acidophilus]

WTF?

Uber has itsbissues but this is ridiculous.

TFL have bowed to Black cab pressure and we will all pay massively for it. Or get mini cabs that are less safe and treat heir drivers worse.

So the right to a wage that pays your bills is a symptom of the nanny state now?
Personal freedom is the way to go where you should be grateful and work for free?
I've been both an employee and a business owner and it's true that any business who can't be arsed to factor consumer safety along with employee safety and working rights into their business model really has no place being in business. It's a basic mark of a human being who understands how a successful society works. The race to the bottom and always be the lowest bidder is unsustainable economically, environmentally and ethically. That has nothing to do with a nanny state and should be everyones personal responsibility, to not take advantage of your environment or fellow human to their detriment.

I've not read the thread but I am pleased. The guy who owns Uber is David Cameron's best friend - godparents to his children.

I was totally shocked when I found out about Uber operating in London - given the criteria to be a black cab driver

But I soon found out why!

Amen Meh! About half the women I know have had dubious Uber drivers. Their experiences run from creepy comments to sexual assault. Amongst my friendship group we have simply stopped using Uber because we don't trust it.

I have two male friends who have driven for Uber. Neither of them is surprised or particularly put out by the licence suspension.

I grew up in the third world. Great service there. Lots of people wreafy to kiss your arse double quick for a few crumbs. Not the sort of society that I want to live in thanks.

Consider what you are paying for these cheap rides. How much do you think the driver makes per day? How much time does he spend getting to fares where he isn't paid to drive? Net out what he spends on petrol and insurance (let's hope he has some) and Uber's cut. What's he left with?

I thought this was quite informative;

"Reasons not to use Uber"

stallman.org/uber.html

I have read today that Uber is the darling of trendy London lefties and also that it's liberal lefties who want to shut it down. Can't win.

Either pay what a private ride should cost, where the driver can make a dignified living, or walk, bike or take the bus. Uber is exploitive. Everyone trying to justify their own cheapness/indolence is unseemly.

This. A thousand times this.

Riding ... SW15 is 5 minutes away?! By helicopter, do you mean? I'm afraid I don't share the same rarified air as you.

And I notice someone else has called bullshit on you as well about some black cabs being not being keen on coming south, I suppose they're "lying" as well? What a bunch of fibbers we south Londoners are.

Lucky old you with all your myriad of taxi options, can I get you to organise all my disabled mums travel from now on?

At the end of the day, globalisation will mean lower pay generally. It started decades ago with the manufacturing industry being moved to China etc. Now we have services moving East, i.e. translation, customer services, professional services, etc. It's simply not possible for a developed country like the UK to keep it's relatively high living standards when we're in competition with far cheaper countries like China, Africa, etc. We're in the middle of a "levelling out" process, aided and abetted by new technology - as new tech develops, then more and more trades/professions will be hit. It's not a race to the bottom, but it certainly is a race towards levelling out living standards as our standards fall whilst those in developing countries rise.

Personally I'm grateful they've revoked their license.
They could always choose to comply with regulations....

We're in the middle of a "levelling out" process, aided and abetted by new technology - as new tech develops, then more and more trades/professions will be hit. It's not a race to the bottom, but it certainly is a race towards levelling out living standards as our standards fall whilst those in developing countries rise.

To a point. The issue also lies with inequality within countries too. If there is disproportionate wealth concentrated within a small percentage of the country the effect is worse. The UK and US have an acute problem with this compared with many other western nations.

Im pretty glad they've done this. About time.

Why didn't Khan have talks? Because it's a game! Uber are used to lobbying their way out of a hole as they did with the previous mayor and the Cameron government. Khan raised the stakes by making them face the possibility of losing their license thus strengthening his negotiating position.

Uber were asked to engage 4 months ago when they didn't get their licence for renewed for 5 months and only got a 4 month extension. They were informed of the reasons why.

That should have been a bit of a clue.

Yet did nothing

Why is Khan blamed for that?

Uber have no scruples and pay almost slave labour prices to their drivers (unfortunately workers have become used to this). They have no actual checks in place. Uber think they're above the law.

Im delighted this has happened.

Uber have made black cabs and minicabs up their game. Black cabs now mostly take cards and minicabs have software to match cars to jobs and tell you how long you'll be waiting. My main need for cabs is from home or hospital, when there's no shortage of cars, or from a station home late, when there's a choice of minicab offices. The only times that there's been long waits for minicabs have been late on a Saturday night or NYE when Uber have equally failed.

IME black cabs now reliably go to Balham but not Tooting. Also as they qualify for central and then one of N,S,E or W London, and aren't obliged to take fares out of their sector, most will cover the sector they live in, mostly N and E.

Is there really any need for differences between black cabs and private hire in the modern tech age? You don't need to pre book a private hire anymore and don't need to hail a black cab on the street. We've now got iphones which make both business models obsolete. Just need a single type of taxi organisation now - one where you can book at the touch of a button on an app - a modern mix of black cab and private hire.

The only difference now, which should attract different pricing, is the type of cab, i.e. a minibus costs more than a black cab which in turn costs more than a normal saloon car, and likewise a high end saloon like a BMW or Merc costs more than a normal one.

You can't keep the old fashioned ways of working when new technology comes along.

Have no idea what you mean by "up their game"? Black cab drivers earn a decent living so do mini cab drivers (and so they should). Uber made life very difficult and used cheap labour. They are shameless exploiters. I am willing to pay the correct price for a cab ride and so should others be.

They'll be driverless cabs within 10 years anyway, so they're all fighting for jobs that are on the way out.
The cab industry is a dying one, just like bank cashiers, supermarket check out staff, the future is machine.
Still glad uber have been kicked out of town. Total cowboys with friends in high places. Tory scum, you put doing your mates a favour before the safety of women.
#jeremycorbynforpm. #ilovesadiqkhan.

NotCitrus I agree Uber's appeal is the technology they employ, and others are racing to catch up. Maybe this will give them the shove they need - I don't think Uber really has an equal at the minute and it would be good wake up call for them to see consumers do have a proper choice.

While we're discussing the rights of exploited workers, if anyone has a genuine alternative to Amazon I'd love to know! I hate how reliant I am on it.

Riding ... SW15 is 5 minutes away?! By helicopter, do you mean? I'm afraid I don't share the same rarified air as you.

I live just off West Hill. SW17 starts halfway down Garratt Lane, just past Earlsfield station.

And I notice someone else has called bullshit on you as well about some black cabs being not being keen on coming south, I suppose they're "lying" as well? What a bunch of fibbers we south Londoners are.

No, the poster said they had problems getting black cabs to go to Peckham - that I can believe.

Lucky old you with all your myriad of taxi options, can I get you to organise all my disabled mums travel from now on?

They're your taxi options too that's the point - local mini cab firms that provide the best prices and service. You can put your numbers in your phone just like I do. In fact I have Tooting mini cabs in my phone as I have to go to St George's regularly.

mothertruk3r - thanks for posting that link it's very interesting.

What are you buying from Amazon?

I buy books online from Blackwells (or did until they changed their website), and everything else just google for and buy from small online outlets.

There are very few items sold only through Amazon.

Of course one can't guarantee any of the outlets are paying their tax, but I still find that better than an outlet I know is definitely doing tax avoidance.

doing your mates a favour before the safety of women.

Many women, including myself, have signed the petition because they feel safer using Uber. It is TFLs responsibility to do DBS checks on drivers. When I use Uber I get the a picture of the driver, his name, the car he's driving, and his licence plate number. I do not have to carry cash. Any probs I can contact Uber as well as leave a negative review. Plus my journey is tracked. Anything happens I have information and a record of my journey which I can give to police. Traditional minicab I do not have this info to hand. Anything happens I have to try to recall basic details in a situation where it's my word against there's when I might not be in a position to recall these basic facts.

If I'm out and lose my purse or it is stolen, provided I stil have my phone I can get home. I can borrow someone else's phone and log into my account and get a journey home. Or they can book one for me even if they have no cash. If I am lost I do not have to know what street I'm on. I do not have to stand on a street corner exposed and hail a ride with a random person I have no details for. I can choose the spot I want to be picked up where I feel safe. I can change the location during the transaction whilst the car is coming. I can change my destination with a flick of a button. I can get the drivers direct number and talk to him if I need to make an adjustment.

I'm not saying Uber can't do even more to make women safer, but you can't tell me other forms of hire vehicles which don't have these checks are better at making women safe. They employ 40,000 drivers there will be some bad drivers. Plus yesterday on the radio, a female Uber driver said she felt safer driving with Uber than she did driving for other minicab firms, because she had previously been robbed and she liked that she had details about the customers and didn't ever handle cash. She said you get better standard of passengers. Other women drive with Uber for similar reasons.

Uber may have its issues, but I honestly think this is mostly about politics. Khan is under pressure from TFL and the BC unions and I call bull on most of it.

Riding - you're at West Hill? No wonder you don't have any trouble getting black cabs to take you home. Is that Zone 1??! Uber would be really cheap for you, you know, in central London. Give it a go!

surferjet On present showing it is the black cab dinosaurs who have the friends in high places - getting the plug pulled on an innovative and successful rival. It's a good thing we have courts.