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.

How can ANYONE be defending Uber?!
They don't carry out proper checks on their drivers, they pay poverty wages and they channel all their money offshore to avoid paying a penny in tax to the UK government.

They even have some small print in app tonsay you're booking your trip with an offshore subsidiary company so they don't even have to pay VAT on their bookings.

They are slippery as hell, and their brinksmanship game with government has finally come unstuck

There are loads of other, reputable cab firms in London. Don't want to use black cabs? Use Addison Lee
Don't want to use Addison Lee? Use your local car service

A lot if this discussion are red herrings. They did not get their licence revoked because of the knowledge or restraint of trade, they were acting in breach of their cab licence from TFL .They set standards which all firms have to apply but Uber played the "we are a tech company not a minicab" and effectively lost as they did in the ET case.

TFL have removed licences from other cab firms previously and will do again. If they correct the defects it is restored. As has been suggested on twitter putting the systems in to deal with the breaches are rather modest in cost and effort but Uber could not be bothered; and just being disingenous with their response.

Are all you defenders saying we should no licencing at all?

I work in zone 1, live in zone 4. On call I cover 3 hospitals. If I need to get to any of these sites overnight I get an über. Black cabs won't come to zone 4 to pick me up. Also the cost of getting a few black cabs in a night over that distance is pretty prohibitive.

Quite britbat23. TFL is asking them to abide by some basic fucking safety checks that every one else also has to do, they're not doing them properly, and now they've lost their licence. If it were the local minicab company everyone would be 'oooh I've used them loads of times, I feel awful now' but because it's a big business with a fancy logo that looks swish, it's all hand wringing and 'oh but satnav.'

But is that place worth 70% more
For a client meetings back to back? Yes easily. I've also never had a black cab turn me down for being disabled.

Why is it Uber's job to report sexual assaults (or any other crime that happens to the passengers) to the police?

All cab companies are supposed to report such complaints/issues and track them AIUI? Uber have bad form on this and a range of other behaviours which is quite independent of individual drivers.

Also its TFL who have suspended the licence, not the Mayor. I'm pretty sure most of the current board are still Johnson appointees.

Black cabs are more tightly regulated and work on a completely different hailing model - it makes more sense to compare Uber with other minicab companies.

rinc
So you now just use one of the other myriad of cab firms operating in London
What's the issue?

What's the problem with TFL approved mini cabs? I didn't know people were so anti mini cab?

Mine send a driver with ID and send me a pic, the car registration and a link to show the route.

If there are no reputable taxi companies left in London then that's probably because they've been forced out of business by Uber. Or, on the other hand, there are reputable minicab firms but people just aren't bothering to use them.

I've also never had a black cab turn me down for being disabled.

But there is a complaint up-thread from someone who believes black cabs are less inclined to stop if your face isn't white. I've heard this complaint from someone in real life as well.

I travel a lot to London. Few years ago before Uber I wasn't able to get the tube so had to travel by black cab around town. Let me tell you Northerner with a suitcase they didn't half try to rip me off by taking dodgy routes.

It was a 4 mile journey that cost around £20 possibly £25 which was ridiculous. A couple even went over £35. One cabbie admitted he had 2 ways of driving one with a fare and one without. The fare method involved letting every car at a junction out.

Getting near Euston from Kings Cross. The black cab drivers wouldn't drop you the near side of the station. No they would go past the station on the back roads to the traffic lights of doom that would easily add at least a fiver to your fare.

I like Uber and the way it shows you the route they've taken. It's never cost more than £15 at the busiest times. I like the fact you have the details, picture and rating of your driver. I do agree there should be more safe guarding of the drivers rights by the company.

I'm very pleased that Uber have got their arses kicked. They are driving down wages, ripping off their employees (and yes, their drivers are employees, Uber just insists they aren't so that they don't have to pay them properly or give them any rights.) and, like all these 'disruptive' startups, devastating to local economies.

Also, as ever, unimpressed with the wussiness of some people who are too special to take public transport because waah, women's safety.
Women are more at risk, statistically, from the men they share their homes with than from street randoms - or even Uber drivers.

Black cabs are extortionate. They won't take a job that doesn't suit them. Their attempt at an app - Hailo - is beyond shite, and black cabs accept a job then bin in. They have only just started taking cards, and before that were beyond sniffy about taking cards and added a processing fee. And yes, the knowledge takes immense work, but we now have sat nav, and the need for someone to hold that map in their head is no longer there. Do you think we shouldn't use the internet because we have libraries?

Uber is cheap and reliable. In many cases they aren't taking business away from black cabs - people who would never use a black cab, can use an Uber. Cab home from town to me: £50. Uber home from town to me: £18.

I'm pleased. I support black cabs completely, I never use Uber on principle. Black Cabs drivers spend years training, they are regulated and safer than the other options, and I'm happy to pay for that.

Do you think we shouldn't use the internet because we have libraries?

Good luck on using any of my extensive collection of research databases without the internet. Libraries don't work without the internet these days, full stop, unlike cab drivers, who work both ways.

I don't have an issue with Uber's use of satnav technology. I do have an issue with their shit treatment of their employees and their failure to abide by the basic safety requirements of their licence.

People don't value the measures put into protect them.

Bad things only happen to other people.
Usually poor people or vulnerable people.

Hence why regulations are in place.

Why is it that the 1st Class Passengers survived much more on the Titanic than the ones in 3rd Class?

We should not profit (and by that I include by paying lower fares) at the expense of others who are put at risk or suffer.

Vulnerable groups should not be forced to pay extra for their safety. It should be a collective responsibility. Nor should it be a race to the bottom in safety standards, where vetted cabs are only for the rich.

Or can you give me a good reason, why the owners of cab firms shouldn't do all they can to ensure the safety of all their passengers?

Its basic. Really basic to vet your drivers and take responsibility for your employees and their actions whilst carrying out work which you profit from.

The self employment argument hasn't held up in the British courts. It was thrown out. Which is a great victory for everyone, but people who seek to exploit workers.

Its really good news. Ill be celebrating with the black cabbies tonight, and MPs will start hearing from the man on the street again once they start to re-use black cabs, instead of living in the utterly removed bubble. Excellent.

Why are people acting like it's a 2 horse option between uber and black cabs?!
Addison Lee has thousands of drivers and have a great app. I've never had to wait more than 5 mins for a car with them, and they are about the same price as uber for a much nicer car.

My local cab company has an app, and while the wait is longer, they are as cheap as uber.

And none of them have a problem doing proper background checks on their drivers!

YANBU. Uber drivers have a taxi license, it isn't any random with a car.

Every journey is logged and tracked, not so with other forms of cab. The driver doesn't have to carry cash, which helps to keep them safe, it is as much a worry for them as the passenger, who are they letting into their car?!?

Uber does take too much cash from the drivers.

It is sad that black cab drivers, who did train and study are being phased out by technology, but an awful lot more if that is coming to other industries, AI etc.

I like that the driver uses SatNav. EVERY time I get a black cab home the driver assumes from my accent that I don't know where I am, and uses his "knowledge" to take me on a longer route at a higher cost. NOTHING I SAY seems to make a difference to this! I get told I am wrong and to trust them....

Their app isn't Hailo anymore - it changed months ago and I noticed a lot of improvements. I use it several times a week and it's great. Not sure where that takes us though. But whatever the pros and cons of Uber and Black Cabs, failings in corporate governance matter

YANBU. Uber drivers have a taxi license, it isn't any random with a car.

Yes and it's that license that has just been revoked because the company wasn't putting in place the checks required to get the license. So effectively it is just some random with a car. Oh, but you've got their photo so that's totally ok.

I also backed the black cab drivers who have spent years learning their trade, as opposed to just plugging in a sat nav.

while I sympathize with black cab drivers who had to jump through silly hoops to get the licence, it's just there to create artificial shortage.

If a sat nav does the trick, why the hell would i want to pay for someone to learn all the streets? We don't say proper doctor shouldn't use computers.

For all those people who are saying they treat their employees terribly, the biggest complaint about the shutdown seems to be coming from drivers.

I am totally with you OP.
Banning Uber hits those who can't afford Black Cabs. And it hits women's safety, walking the streets at night. So it really disproportionately hits women who dont have a lot of money.

The tube is very limited at night, and there is no night tube at all on most nights; and night buses can take you to a bus stop but you may still have a long and unsafe walk from the bus stop to your house. I certainly do and so does my best friend. We're both single mums with very limited funds.

quesera
So use another cab firm that isn't uber

I got assaulted in a mini cab.

Reported it to the police who didn't take it at all seriously. Reported it twice and in the second time they approached the cab company who assured the police he was one of their most trusted drivers, a nice guy and I was a bit drunk anyway so couldn't be trusted.

I'm delighted. Hate Travis Fuckface (I know he's gone) and their horrible misogynist company culture.

Negligent on sex offences, published the medical records of a woman who was raped in an Uber and took them to court. They can fuck off as far as I am concerned.

I've used black cabs and reputable mini cabs in London for 30 years and never had any problems. They tend to be faster than Uber and cost the same.