Taxi Driver Online

If having a hub cab missing means that a vehicle is dangerous, the police are going to be very busy.

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Grandad,

London cabbies to offer EVEN WORSE service in protest against Uber

This ain't a bubble barf, mate ... Hackneyed taxi drivers want app BANNED OR ELSE

As if London didn't have enough traffic on its streets, the capital's cabbies have vowed to bring the city to a standstill in a protest against the taxi-booking phone app Uber.

The big smoke's grumpiest drivers are furious that minicabs are now using Uber to calculate fares and tout for business. Union bosses claimed the use of Uber is tantamount to installing a taximeter – which is illegal in minicabs.

They have threatened to clog London's already congested streets in protest against the "American monster" Uber unless the app is banned in the capital.

Steve McNamara, general secretary of the the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LDTA), said Transport for London (TfL) had refused to address his colleagues' concerns.

"TfL not enforcing the Private Hire Vehicles Act is dangerous for Londoners," he said.

"I anticipate that the demonstration against TfL's handling of Uber will attract many many thousands of cabs and cause severe chaos, congestion and confusion across the metropolis."

The LDTA described Uber as "an American monster that has no qualms about breaching any and all laws in the pursuit of profit, most of which will never see a penny of tax paid in the UK”.

Although Uber uses phrases like "reliable pick ups" and "one tap to ride" to describe itself, there is absolutely no sexual component to its services.

Instead, it simply offers a cashless method of booking taxis via a smartphone. Pictures of the driver are sent ahead to the person booking a taxi, and also Uber claims to runs background checks on its drivers to cut down on the risk of pervs preying on passengers.

Routes are also emailed to customers, to avoid fare quibbles, and can be seen by their friends.

Uber has been banned in Brussels, where Brigitte Grouwels, regional transport minister, branded the upstart "cowboys". It is also facing a partial ban in Berlin, although the Reg's favourite European vice-commissioner for the digital agenda Neelie Kroes said the vetoes sent an “anti-tech message”.

Transport for London has few qualms about the hi-tech replacement for the hackneyed cab industry.

"We have seen no evidence to suggest that Uber London Ltd are not fit and proper to hold a London private hire vehicle operator's licence, but no final decisions have been made whilst Uber's operating model is still under investigation," it told the Beeb.

"Competition in my view is always good for the customer because it makes all of us up our game in terms of quality and service," Jo Bertram, Uber's general manager in London, added.

"On the driver side, we offer a much more flexible model that is very different from the old-school private hire industry, that allows them to work as independent business operators however and whenever they choose." ®

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/05/09/london_cabbies/

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I don't know how easily/quickly it can be done, but I reckon they'll probably just change the law, regarding taximeters, so Uber can operate legally.

It may not doing the London Taxi trade any good, too. The general public, don't really know what the protest is really all about, and probably don't see what the problem with private hire cars calculating the fare based on time and speed (they probably don't know or care, about the difference between private hire and hackney anyway!).

This is also giving Uber publicity as well, the public who don't know about Uber yet, will be curious as to what it's all about, they'll download their app and start using it!

Yep I agree - free publicity is worth a fortune

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Have a ruck with Uber by all accounts, but not over the meter issue.

And people need to pick their fights.

Not quite sure when google and Goldman Sachs will run out of money, but I doubt it will be soon.

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IDFIMH

There's the device for calculating the fare.

There's the lack of an operating centre.

There's the issue of drivers being supplied the job directly whilst not being licensed operators.

There's the lack of accountability with uber taking the 'nothing to do with us' line with complaints.

Plenty to be going on with.....

Other cities have put them in their place, I'm sure TFL will have to soon.

And then there's the realisation it's the same poor English speaker in his Prius with a sat nav who works for Kebab shop cars but now has an uber 'device' in his car . . . . . And in fact taking the name out of the equation, they're getting a London Minicab, albeit one which wants to bypass the London PH act.

Trotsky.

Is this true that Mr Flanagan is no longer a GMB rep after a to do with some union hierarchy bod?

And the BIG protest is on the 11th of June.

Contrary to some press reports, the demo is against TFL and it's incompetence and / or refusal to uphold the licensing laws.

It would seem then that TfL are being very selective a to what laws they enforce. Drive in a bus lane for a few yards and you'll get a ticket; stop on a red route, ticket. Operate private hire without a licence, nothing happens.

I use google maps and a calculator. Would that count as a device in London?

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Grandad,

Only to the utter brain dead.

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IDFIMH

Be fair Sussex, he has upgraded from the A-Z and slide rule!

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

Why taxi drivers are going to war with Uber

London's black cab drivers want to bring the city to gridlock in protest at the California company's activities


'The cabbies' beef is simple. They claim that Uber is a taxi company.'


Every digital entrepreneur dreams of inventing a disruptive technology. But perhaps in the case of Uber, a California company that now operates in 110 cities around the world, including London and Manchester, things may have gone too far. If Transport for London (TfL) doesn't do something about it soon, says the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA), a mass protest from London's cabbies will bring gridlock to the city centre next month.

The idea behind Uber, and its rivals, is simple. When you need a taxi you look at its app, which shows you all the cars nearby and how quickly one could reach you. You press a button, a car comes, and the payment is taken from your card automatically. Rates are about the same as normal taxis (or more expensive, if you choose a luxury car). The advantage is that you don't have to wave forlornly on the street, or queue at a rank, and the whole thing feels cool as hell.

The cabbies' beef is also simple. They claim that Uber is a taxi company. What's that? You thought it was a taxi company too? Oh dear me no. As uber.com explains, its business is "connecting riders to drivers". The cars come in several standard types, but Uber don't own them. The drivers are approved by Uber, and supplied with equipment by Uber, but they are self-employed. In order to apply to drive for it – sorry, partner with it – the first thing you have to do is say you understand that Uber is "not a transportation carrier". It's like eBay, or Silk Road for that matter: a shop that doesn't sell anything.

This distinction is important because it helps to keep Uber away from laws that license taxis. In the case of London, cars with taxi meters are considered taxis, but TfL says that Uber's time-and-distance-measuring machines aren't taxi meters, because they are not physically connected to the cars. The cabbies, for their part, call this bunkum, and claim that TfL are just frightened of Uber's fancy lawyers. And the cabbies are not alone. Uber is also facing, or has faced, bans, restrictions, court cases or protests of some kind in Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Houston, Portland, New Orleans, Seattle, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, Vancouver and Toronto. In Paris, naturally, an Uber car was even physically attacked.

"I anticipate that the demonstration … will attract many, many thousands of cabs and cause severe chaos, congestion and confusion across the metropolis," says the LTDA's general secretary Steve McNamara. It is tempting to ask how anyone will tell.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortc ... b-gridlock

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Uber affects the Minicab industry 100 times more than mine.

Existing Minicab drivers are 'Uber'.

The beef is about TFL doing SFA over obvious contraventions of the London PH act.

Whats next? 'Kabee' or 'Lyft' placing TAXI roof signs on a fleet of people carriers with signage down both sides?

TFL is what the demo is about, Uber just happens to be the name of a Minicab app that's getting away with it.