Uber are getting shirty
Discussion
Frank7 said:
Don't bring logic and common sense into this, all those who
want to tap their phones, then wait for a monkey to
pick them up for a handful of peanuts will get upset.
It isn't either/or. Black cabs need to modernise. Uber needs to mature. They can co-exist.want to tap their phones, then wait for a monkey to
pick them up for a handful of peanuts will get upset.
Or in the style of your post:
all those who want to wave their arms in the air, then wait for a belligerent driver who wont go south of the river for an excessive (but regulated) fee for which he won't take a card or provide a reciept "as the machine is broken" will get upset.
Haven't taken a black cab in year. Too expensive, too arrogant and fed up of the bs that their card machine's don't work so they can line their pockets with tax dodging cash.
Sincerely hope the Uber licence is allowed. I used it approx 10-15 times a week to collect cars. Can't justify it with a black cab, and won't justify it either.
Sincerely hope the Uber licence is allowed. I used it approx 10-15 times a week to collect cars. Can't justify it with a black cab, and won't justify it either.
VEX said:
Took two cabs today, both just happened to be there when I came out of meetings.
Can't do that with Uber.
Two black cabs in one day !! You must be an oligarch ? Can't do that with Uber.
Other than the cost, the sitting in traffic, not using bus lanes and driving the long way round, the constant jerking along, door locks clicking and the vile plasticky smell..... They are great !
Do can drivers pay tax ?
I don't think from what I've seen and experienced private hire is particularly well done in London. But in Glasgow it is.
What one learns is that Uber isn't exactly the same as private hire, so it isn't directly competitive. The market it covers isn't the same and it covers work which private hire doesn't really want.
Watching it start up was quite funny. Basically ph drivers were bribed to join. Fairly chunky bribes sometimes. And taking the bribe meant committing to a certain time period or number of jobs with Uber or both. So you can guess what happened I'm sure. And it certainly calmed Uber down once they discovered that 90% of the drivers they'd bribed were only ever going to be temporary. So the bribery stopped. So the growth stopped.
Currently ph sees Uber as a trainer. There's nothing worse than a newbie who doesn't know anything. So they get told to join Uber and come back in 3 months. Which they do, of course, because ph pays better than Uber. SOME drivers prefer it. Mostly because it can be slightly more civilised than ph with a certain better quality of passenger. But most don't for 100 reasons.
Legislation wise, it's a godsend. Obviously they money influence local authorities into allowing them to trade the way they do, but that lets the ph firms say "ooooh is it ok for US to do that as well"? which of course it has to be, so everyone gets the benefit of the regulatory breakthroughs and "changes" the licensing of uber brings with it.
Sadly, tho', it ain't profitable. To become profitable it's going to have to more closely model itself on how successful private hire operates. But that'll make it much more directly competitive with ph. And it hasn't the experience to compete effectively with long established and deeply embedded players. Mind you, people are daft. So they'll probably continue to fund it till doomsday.
What one learns is that Uber isn't exactly the same as private hire, so it isn't directly competitive. The market it covers isn't the same and it covers work which private hire doesn't really want.
Watching it start up was quite funny. Basically ph drivers were bribed to join. Fairly chunky bribes sometimes. And taking the bribe meant committing to a certain time period or number of jobs with Uber or both. So you can guess what happened I'm sure. And it certainly calmed Uber down once they discovered that 90% of the drivers they'd bribed were only ever going to be temporary. So the bribery stopped. So the growth stopped.
Currently ph sees Uber as a trainer. There's nothing worse than a newbie who doesn't know anything. So they get told to join Uber and come back in 3 months. Which they do, of course, because ph pays better than Uber. SOME drivers prefer it. Mostly because it can be slightly more civilised than ph with a certain better quality of passenger. But most don't for 100 reasons.
Legislation wise, it's a godsend. Obviously they money influence local authorities into allowing them to trade the way they do, but that lets the ph firms say "ooooh is it ok for US to do that as well"? which of course it has to be, so everyone gets the benefit of the regulatory breakthroughs and "changes" the licensing of uber brings with it.
Sadly, tho', it ain't profitable. To become profitable it's going to have to more closely model itself on how successful private hire operates. But that'll make it much more directly competitive with ph. And it hasn't the experience to compete effectively with long established and deeply embedded players. Mind you, people are daft. So they'll probably continue to fund it till doomsday.
Edited by drainbrain on Friday 22 September 23:42
Where to start!! Black cabs are horrifically expensive for what they are. 3 x more than an Uber. They're yesterday's news. Out dated, out priced, generally tatty. I know 3 and they're all on the cash take/fiddle. Hate when people pay by cards!!! They pick and choose who they stop for and often will refuse you if journey does not suit them. They are a dinosaur that should be extinct.
Uber are new, exciting, cheap, clean, convenient and efficient. The cons are they are a corporate who's sole aim is to kill the competition, drive out the competitors, loss lead for a few years and then just watch the prices go up!!!!! All rates will go up whilst they simultaneously squeeze all the drivers commissions/rates. The way uber treat and respect their drivers is appalling. They pay no real tax here and generally are a beheamouth who want to devour everything in its path.
I use uber as I hate the fact that black cabs feel they're worth what they charge-a joke.
I always leave a healthy tip with uber drivers and the real losers are the drivers.
Hate black cabs and hate uber corporate, squash everything mentality.
Uber are new, exciting, cheap, clean, convenient and efficient. The cons are they are a corporate who's sole aim is to kill the competition, drive out the competitors, loss lead for a few years and then just watch the prices go up!!!!! All rates will go up whilst they simultaneously squeeze all the drivers commissions/rates. The way uber treat and respect their drivers is appalling. They pay no real tax here and generally are a beheamouth who want to devour everything in its path.
I use uber as I hate the fact that black cabs feel they're worth what they charge-a joke.
I always leave a healthy tip with uber drivers and the real losers are the drivers.
Hate black cabs and hate uber corporate, squash everything mentality.
I had this conversation with quite a few people today. I was born in the 90s so therefore I am a "snowflake" to those who don't understand how the world moves on from their 1940s childhoods.
As it stands, it doesn't matter if I earn £10,000 or £100,000,000 a year. Someone with at least half a brain cell will be able to work out that a £12 Uber is better value for money than a £30 black cab. I have taken hundreds of Ubers, and the benefit that a lot of people forget is that I can use my app, my settings and my face across countries. I remember taking an UberX across downtown Illinios, an UberPOP in Warszawa, and even locally showing some customers from Chilé that we have Uber in central too.
I'm not one to get my pants in a twist about current events, but it's worth mentioning that some of my snowflake crowd have decided to protest by hailing black cabs for a long journey and doing a runner at the end. I have no involvement (I drove round the block to pick up a Chinese takeaway, that's the extent) but when a company is pushing modern technology RE passenger/driver tracking and automated billing, I can understand the personal protests of people who are losing those. The fact that the alternative is still set in the 70s (i.e. no tracking, no pre-booking, ridiculous fares etc) just means that snowflakes are going to simply take the piss with cab fares. It'd be like saying that anybody with a pre-2003 car has to get it crushed purely because it doesn't meet today's guidelines.
As it stands, it doesn't matter if I earn £10,000 or £100,000,000 a year. Someone with at least half a brain cell will be able to work out that a £12 Uber is better value for money than a £30 black cab. I have taken hundreds of Ubers, and the benefit that a lot of people forget is that I can use my app, my settings and my face across countries. I remember taking an UberX across downtown Illinios, an UberPOP in Warszawa, and even locally showing some customers from Chilé that we have Uber in central too.
I'm not one to get my pants in a twist about current events, but it's worth mentioning that some of my snowflake crowd have decided to protest by hailing black cabs for a long journey and doing a runner at the end. I have no involvement (I drove round the block to pick up a Chinese takeaway, that's the extent) but when a company is pushing modern technology RE passenger/driver tracking and automated billing, I can understand the personal protests of people who are losing those. The fact that the alternative is still set in the 70s (i.e. no tracking, no pre-booking, ridiculous fares etc) just means that snowflakes are going to simply take the piss with cab fares. It'd be like saying that anybody with a pre-2003 car has to get it crushed purely because it doesn't meet today's guidelines.
The short journies mentioned, how do you people keep fit? I'll be glad when taxis for such purposes disappear. They sit with their engines idling most of the time and our city centres can do without them . As mentioned when I lived in London I used the tube. In Manchester I walk across town or bike. Ontop of this is the Chinese hirebike scheme.
Taxis one day will die out
Taxis one day will die out
Vaud said:
Mojooo said:
Listening to some people on the media you would think people had never heard of private hire vehicles. you don't have to use black cabs you know.
But they will be killed off as well. Lyft and Uber are the future service model.I support my local private hire for airport runs, etc, and will continue to do so as I live outside a city. They will continue to survive as the demand/supply ratio will favour them vs Uber and adjusted pricing models.
My local private hire company is great, they use an app just like uber where you can track the driver, set pick up points etc. If you’re not fussed about using the same app abroad, it’s better than uber.
The advantage they have is that they have loads of set contracts for things like school runs or local businesses etc. They’re actually cheaper than uber also. Some of the drivers do some uber work on the side. I think that’s how many work where they might work for a few different companies and even do some limo work with the same car and just log on to different apps depending on time of day etc.
Blaster72 said:
As already mentioned there are alternatives to both Uber and Black Cabs.
And so there should be.If we want we can have all the systems :- minicab, Uber, Addison Lee, other executive car services, black cabs, the lot.
Although I think the numbers of people wanting "You know that little alley that runs between Penton Street and, oh, what's the name of that court halfway down on the left hand side?" type of service are dwindling. But if that is the service you want, why shouldn't you have it, and pay for it?
Many people are quite happy to give the driver the postcode and let him put it into his sat nav and drive there. Why shouldn't they?
I think that companies and individuals should comply with sensible laws. Those laws shouldn't be framed to keep people in jobs, or to outlaw technology that can make life simpler and easier.
I don't doubt that when the ICE came in, lots of coachmen, ostlers and postilions lost their jobs and thought that it was most unfair.
Progress should not be artificially held back.
Do people not think that TfL’s grievances are ligitimate? Uber skimped on background checks and let drivers keep working after committing sexual assault. They created software specifically to evade regulators and facilitate breaking the law.
They took the piss long and hard just like they’ve done in every other country because they’re an entitled bunch of frat boys that didn’t hear the word No enough when they were growing up.
Uber is not our shining future it’s a bunch of abusers and piss takers in it only to line their own pockets.
They took the piss long and hard just like they’ve done in every other country because they’re an entitled bunch of frat boys that didn’t hear the word No enough when they were growing up.
Uber is not our shining future it’s a bunch of abusers and piss takers in it only to line their own pockets.
Edited by buggalugs on Saturday 23 September 07:46
Edited by buggalugs on Saturday 23 September 07:47
Does anyone who has used uber not think it is basically miles better than what went before?
I don't know if the working conditions need reform or not, but from a user point of view it beats the alternative on all levels for me.
Sad if it does get binned in London. Why in earth are we rejecting progress? If the price needs to go up to address working conditions then fine, it's still miles better than a black cab.
I don't know if the working conditions need reform or not, but from a user point of view it beats the alternative on all levels for me.
Sad if it does get binned in London. Why in earth are we rejecting progress? If the price needs to go up to address working conditions then fine, it's still miles better than a black cab.
buggalugs said:
Do people not think that TfL’s grievances are ligitimate? Uber skimped on background checks and let drivers keep working after committing sexual assault. They created software specifically to evade regulators and facilitate breaking the law.
Yes but it's cheap and convenient so it's OK seems to sum it up.What's happened is that the hipster capitalist has spread from California to everywhere else. These dudes regard morality as an embarrassing delusion.
They have made headway by offering colossal returns on investor money only manageable by exploiting the worker, the supplier and the data generated to the extent the a downward spiral is created. Other hipster capitalists can only get started by offering more extreme versions of the same.
This has made waves and these immoral b
ds have popped up everywhere - gaming positions in previously rational capitalist bastions. They have driven and overseen a gigantic change and the relationship between the amount of profits reinvested in companies and the amount removed by shareholders and simply squandered.
That's all well and good - people can take from their possession what they will. But it has consequences. especially in Western democracies where underfunded, once effective, public services are being propped up by private money which must offer the greatest return to shareholders irrelevant of the impact on future efficiency.
If you combine that with a drop in real wages made up by cheap credit derived from fiat currency then you kind of have what we have now.
Capitalism is a great system but it has to be self regulating to a degree. There is a link between the shareholder and the customer of a company in which those shares are held. And the workers within that company who buy and use services provided by other companies. Uber and its ilk represent the severing of that link.
Careful what you wish for. Sooner or later it will be you, your livelihood and your life that the hipsters come for.
They have made headway by offering colossal returns on investor money only manageable by exploiting the worker, the supplier and the data generated to the extent the a downward spiral is created. Other hipster capitalists can only get started by offering more extreme versions of the same.
This has made waves and these immoral b
ds have popped up everywhere - gaming positions in previously rational capitalist bastions. They have driven and overseen a gigantic change and the relationship between the amount of profits reinvested in companies and the amount removed by shareholders and simply squandered.That's all well and good - people can take from their possession what they will. But it has consequences. especially in Western democracies where underfunded, once effective, public services are being propped up by private money which must offer the greatest return to shareholders irrelevant of the impact on future efficiency.
If you combine that with a drop in real wages made up by cheap credit derived from fiat currency then you kind of have what we have now.
Capitalism is a great system but it has to be self regulating to a degree. There is a link between the shareholder and the customer of a company in which those shares are held. And the workers within that company who buy and use services provided by other companies. Uber and its ilk represent the severing of that link.
Careful what you wish for. Sooner or later it will be you, your livelihood and your life that the hipsters come for.
El stovey said:
Remember though that uber still only really works in big urban areas, the majority of most countries outside cities don’t have uber.
My local private hire company is great, they use an app just like uber where you can track the driver, set pick up points etc. If you’re not fussed about using the same app abroad, it’s better than uber.
The advantage they have is that they have loads of set contracts for things like school runs or local businesses etc. They’re actually cheaper than uber also. Some of the drivers do some uber work on the side. I think that’s how many work where they might work for a few different companies and even do some limo work with the same car and just log on to different apps depending on time of day etc.
I do remember, which is why I posted almost exactly your point.My local private hire company is great, they use an app just like uber where you can track the driver, set pick up points etc. If you’re not fussed about using the same app abroad, it’s better than uber.
The advantage they have is that they have loads of set contracts for things like school runs or local businesses etc. They’re actually cheaper than uber also. Some of the drivers do some uber work on the side. I think that’s how many work where they might work for a few different companies and even do some limo work with the same car and just log on to different apps depending on time of day etc.
///ajd said:
Does anyone who has used uber not think it is basically miles better than what went before?
I don't know if the working conditions need reform or not, but from a user point of view it beats the alternative on all levels for me.
Sad if it does get binned in London. Why in earth are we rejecting progress? If the price needs to go up to address working conditions then fine, it's still miles better than a black cab.
This. It's a better service. I'd use Uber even if it was the same price as a black cab. For me, the billing system means I actually claim my expenses, rather than trying to work through a load of grubby paper slips at the end of the month.I don't know if the working conditions need reform or not, but from a user point of view it beats the alternative on all levels for me.
Sad if it does get binned in London. Why in earth are we rejecting progress? If the price needs to go up to address working conditions then fine, it's still miles better than a black cab.
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