Uber-why the controversy?

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  • DebrajoanDebrajoan Posts: 1,917
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    spkx wrote: »
    Not sure why the minicab driver didn't just google it, or use google now. "Give me directions to Hakkasan, Tottenham court Road" Says more about that particular driver being a bit slow than anything ele.

    Even so, what was the cost difference between what you paid between what they each paid? Is that saving worth it taking longer? For more people in most situations it is. I'd rather pay less and I don't mind if it takes a bit longer.

    Why their driver didn't do that I do not know, although he wouldn't have got far asking for Hakkasan Tottenham Court Rd.
    The Hakkasan NEAR Tottenham Court Rd. is in Hanway Place, off Oxford St., there is another branch in Bruton St. Mayfair.
    My fare was £11.20 to the best of my recall, it was around 9.30 p.m., so it was on rate 2.
    I don't know what their fare was, probably slightly more than mine, as they sensibly abandoned the minicab, and hailed a black cab, but they arrived just after 10.00 p.m., so they went into rate 3.
  • Thine WonkThine Wonk Posts: 17,190
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    Debrajoan wrote: »
    I was in a bar recently, in Praed St. Paddington, at a firm's leaving 'do' with a few of my girlfriends.
    It was decided that we'd all go to Hakkasan, a Chinese restaurant, just off Oxford St. for a late dinner.
    As I've already stated on this thread, I never use minicabs, but the other three girls asked the barman to call them a cab.
    I walked out into Praed St., hailed a black cab, said, "Hakkasan please, the one near Tottenham Court Rd.", and was in the restaurant in about 10 to 12 minutes.
    About 15 minutes after I arrived, one of my friends called me and said, "Can you find out the postcode of the restaurant, the minicab driver doesn't know where it is, and needs to punch the code into his Sat-Nav."
    That's one example of the Knowledge beating minicabs.

    If you're not a smartphone user you can continue to ring a taxi like you always have or use a black cab.

    If you are, you'd know how to google the restaurant to look up the postcode in approximately 30 seconds, (that is if the driver couldn't). If you use Google Navigation you can just put the restaurant in directly anyway as it's all linked into google search.

    I would have thought google knows more restaurants, bars, companies and locations than any 1 person could ever hope to try and keep up to date with.
  • Erasmus SleepsErasmus Sleeps Posts: 59
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    Croctacus wrote: »
    This is basically it. Its not just black taxis that are unhappy with uber but also properly linensed mini cabs (and those two rarely agree). Its not the competition, its that its not a level playing field. Black taxis are subject to a huge amount of strict regulation to be able to work, they get moaned about for the fares which are set by the carriage office which is run by TFL and the same TFL then allow others to usurp the taxis. There are 3 rates in taxis and given the choice most drivers would get rid of rate 3 which is the after 10pm one.

    Black taxi drivers are handing their raxis back and there have been a number of suicides and deaths from heart attacks from stressed drivers as their livelihood has been given away.

    My husband has had his badge for 8 years and is now earning only about 30% of what he was when he first started. It takes the average driver anything from 2-4 years to do the knowledge. London black taxis are voted the best taxis in the world year after year. If all people want is a cheap ride then they'll get what they deserve with a cheap, dangerous service. There's a reason why uber has been banned in several countries including Germany.

    Let's not forget Hackney drivers have been CRB checked, most uber drivers probaly are not, get a uber and it may well be a sex offender driving you, that's how lapsy daisical their checking could be.


    Posted by Erasmus Sleeps
  • HypnodiscHypnodisc Posts: 22,728
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    Let's not forget Hackney drivers have been CRB checked, most uber drivers probaly are not, get a uber and it may well be a sex offender driving you, that's how lapsy daisical their checking could be.

    Nonsense.

    Uber drivers still have to be registered, vetted minicab drivers.

    Licensed minicab drivers are vetted to the same extent that Hackney drivers are, although granted they don't have to do 'the knowledge'.
  • HeartacheHeartache Posts: 4,299
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    I would always use a Black Cab over an Uber, l don't trust that all the processes are complied with when it comes to private hire. Lot easier to hail a black cab, than frig around with an app.
  • Thine WonkThine Wonk Posts: 17,190
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    Let's not forget Hackney drivers have been CRB checked, most uber drivers probaly are not, get a uber and it may well be a sex offender driving you, that's how lapsy daisical their checking could be.


    Posted by Erasmus Sleeps

    Is there any need to have a 'signature' in bold stating you posted something when your name is already on the left? It is blindingly obvious that you posted it.
  • JasonJason Posts: 76,557
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    Thine Wonk wrote: »
    Is there any need to have a 'signature' in bold stating you posted something when your name is already on the left? It is blindingly obvious that you posted it.

    You could ask the same of the FM who posts the date at the start of his posts and implores people to "please discuss" or the other one who centres the text of everything they post. It's just a silly bit of attention seeking.
  • Evo102Evo102 Posts: 13,630
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    Hypnodisc wrote: »
    Nonsense.

    Uber drivers still have to be registered, vetted minicab drivers.

    Licensed minicab drivers are vetted to the same extent that Hackney drivers are, although granted they don't have to do 'the knowledge'.

    Exactly. And it's worth reminding people that London' most prolific rapist, John Worboys, was a black cab driver.
  • TUCTUC Posts: 5,105
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    Just about the only time I used a London taxi the driver got lost and kept his meter running for several minutes whilst he consulted his A to Z.
  • LyricalisLyricalis Posts: 57,958
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    TUC wrote: »
    Just about the only time I used a London taxi the driver got lost and kept his meter running for several minutes whilst he consulted his A to Z.

    You weren't wanting to go south of the river by any chance?
  • mooxmoox Posts: 18,880
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    It probably gets more criticism in the US because they're able to circumvent more regulations than they can in the UK.

    I'm also not convinced of the belief that GPS and technology is always better than local knowledge (or "the knowledge" in London). I also dislike the potential outcome of Uber becoming a dominant company and having to deal with them just to get a cab.
  • DebrajoanDebrajoan Posts: 1,917
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    TUC wrote: »
    Just about the only time I used a London taxi the driver got lost and kept his meter running for several minutes whilst he consulted his A to Z.

    The chances of a black cab driver getting "lost" within a six mile radius of Charing Cross are about equal to Kim Jong Un throwing his hat in the ring for election as Mayor of London.
    Maybe on the periphery, Manor Park, Park Royal, East Sheen for example.
    I went to a wedding in Whetstone once, the black cab whizzed out there from Hampstead, but pulled over to check the A-Z in Whetstone itself.
    The meter read £19 or £20 when we got to the church, he said, "Give me £17 love."
    Lyricalis wrote: »
    You weren't wanting to go south of the river by any chance?

    The old ones are the best eh Lyricalis, a bit like Blackpool landlady gags.
    I live in South-East London and never have any trouble getting a black cab to take me there.
    Although I have heard about it happening in the 70s and 80s.
  • TUCTUC Posts: 5,105
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    Debrajoan wrote: »
    The chances of a black cab driver getting "lost" within a six mile radius of Charing Cross are about equal to Kim Jong Un throwing his hat in the ring for election as Mayor of London.

    Kim must be standing for Mayor then as it was from Euston to an address in Westbourne Park.
  • Simon_MoreSimon_More Posts: 709
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    Uber have just launched in Sheffield. The two local cab company's have sort of merged.

    http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1396208
  • TelevisionUserTelevisionUser Posts: 41,404
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    Heartache wrote: »
    I would always use a Black Cab over an Uber, l don't trust that all the processes are complied with when it comes to private hire. Lot easier to hail a black cab, than frig around with an app.

    I would always advise single women and girls to avoid Uber at all costs given Uber's reputation for lax checking thus allowing leches, pervs and sex pests to drive for them.
  • TUCTUC Posts: 5,105
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    Heartache wrote: »
    I would always use a Black Cab over an Uber, l don't trust that all the processes are complied with when it comes to private hire. Lot easier to hail a black cab, than frig around with an app.

    Londoners do seem curiously paranoid compared to the rest of the country.
  • HenryGartenHenryGarten Posts: 24,800
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    TUC wrote: »
    Just about the only time I used a London taxi the driver got lost and kept his meter running for several minutes whilst he consulted his A to Z.

    So you judge a system that has been in existence for over 100 years on the basis of one use.

    So do you have a vested interest in Uber?
  • Thine WonkThine Wonk Posts: 17,190
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    There's interestingly an argument that it's more safe to use the app, as should anything happen the app would have recorded all the of the information about the booking, driver, journey which would be available in the event of a crime taking place.

    That's besides the ease of payment, lower cost etc.
  • TUCTUC Posts: 5,105
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    So you judge a system that has been in existence for over 100 years on the basis of one use.

    So do you have a vested interest in Uber?

    No. I could equally ask, are you a London taxi driver? To show such paranoia speaks volumes.

    Anyway, given the claims above about London taxi drivers being so knowlegable, it was a legitimate example.
  • DigitalSpyUserDigitalSpyUser Posts: 1,319
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    TUC wrote: »
    I'm left puzzled as why Uber is inciting so much controversy in various places. Yes, i can see that the ride sharing aspect is an innovation, but much of Uber's activity appears to be no different to private hire vehicles which many people use day in, day out. It's just an electronic way for booking it. To hear some taxi drivers talk, you'd think they'd never had competition, and yet private hire is what most people are using (whether they know it or not) when they ring up for what they think of as a taxi.

    So what's the difference. Am I missIng something?

    Because the people who run Uber have started to investigate lone women who use the service in case they get raped by one of the drivers, so that if somebody tried to sue Uber, they would have dirt on the women.
  • CroctacusCroctacus Posts: 18,216
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    If you listen to Ian Collins on Lbc now you'll find out what the problem is.
  • TUCTUC Posts: 5,105
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    Croctacus wrote: »
    If you listen to Ian Collins on Lbc now you'll find out what the problem is.

    London, London, London, why do Londoners think that policies should be built for their benefit. It's not all about you!
  • CroctacusCroctacus Posts: 18,216
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    TUC wrote: »
    London, London, London, why do Londoners think that policies should be built for their benefit. It's not all about you!

    Who mentioned London?
  • NilremNilrem Posts: 6,938
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    Because the people who run Uber have started to investigate lone women who use the service in case they get raped by one of the drivers, so that if somebody tried to sue Uber, they would have dirt on the women.

    Yup.

    They have also done things like shown live locations of selected users at parties.
    At the time if you'd used the uber app it was very easy for them to track your phone in real time.

    Their attitude seemed to be very very caviller towards user privacy, the law and user safety (I think one of the descriptions I saw of the attitude towards user privacy was that they were like frat boys trying to impress each other and girls, rather than people running a business with privacy implications).
  • TUCTUC Posts: 5,105
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    Croctacus wrote: »
    Who mentioned London?

    Many of the posts above, and the fact that LBC, despite it's pretences to the contrary, is still obsessed with London issues. Uber has been running in other parts of the country without comment. my daughter, who's a student in Leeds, uses it and says it's great.
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