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| Angry cabbies attack London taxi app office http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24439 |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Thu May 22, 2014 7:21 am ] |
| Post subject: | Angry cabbies attack London taxi app office |
Angry cabbies attack London taxi app office Angry taxi drivers vented their frustration on a London office of e-hailing app Hailo, part of a wave of discontent surrounding apps such as Uber. Angry cab drivers vandalised a taxi app office in London yesterday, part of a growing wave of discontent among the world's cabbies over "e-hailing" apps such as Hailo and Uber. In response to planned changes in the service offered by Hailo, disgruntled taxi drivers headed to the app's dispatch office near Waterloo in South London, with police attending the scene and graffiti sprayed on the building reading "Judas" and "Scabs." Hailo, a start-up co-founded by three London cabbies, enables you to order a taxicab -- that's a car driven by an individually-licensed driver -- from their smartphone. But members of the service were up in arms when it was revealed that Hailo has applied for a Private Hire operator's licence in London, which will add minicabs and executive cars -- drivers that don't hold individual licenses -- to the service. Taxi vs private hire The difference between a taxi and a private hire vehicle isn't clear in the minds of many passengers, but you'll probably know them when you see them. Whether it's a yellow cab in New York or a black Hackney carriage in London, a taxi is driven by a driver who holds a special license. In London, to qualify for that license you must complete the fabled training known as "The Knowledge". Because of the limitations in licensing, the FT describes licensed taxis in many cities as "cartels", closed off to new entrants and resistant to change. But with individual drivers having invested substantial amounts in their taxi -- the FT points to Paris and Florence where licenses and permits cost upwards of €200,000 -- it's no wonder their feelings run high. Meanwhile a minicab, town car, executive car, limo or other vehicle is a private hire vehicle, which you book through a central booking office rather than hailing. Certainly in the UK, minicabs are traditionally seen as cheaper than taxis, but there is less regulation on private hire vehicles. Hailo motor In London there are 25,000 black taxis and 65,000 minicabs. Hailo boasts 14,000 black cabs on its books. By allowing you to find a nearby black cab on a map on your phone, Hailo allows taxi drivers to enjoy the same advantage that private hire companies enjoy: finding potential passengers without having to rely on the chance of driving past at the right time. This level playing field is threatened by Hailo's plans to also offer private hire vehicles, but the folks at Hailo believe it's a necessary step. "A taxi-only app will get isolated and customers will take their money to services without any cabs on offer. It is already happening," warns Hailo co-founder Ron Zeghibe in an open letter to London taxi drivers. "Passengers want a choice and if we don't give them what they want, they will take their money to car apps that don't offer taxis at all. We need to compete and make sure passengers can choose a taxi when they want one." "There is no point burying our heads in the sand," says Zeghibe. "People want a choice and taxis need to be in the mix." 'Stabbed in the back' Hailo already allows passengers in selected US cities to order limousines and private hire cars as well as yellow taxis. But the black cab drivers of London who have joined and promoted Hailo -- sporting stickers and even painting their cabs in bright yellow Hailo livery -- feel betrayed. "Hailo was built on the respectability and professionalism of the licensed taxi trade," says Grant Davis of the 1,600-strong trade organisation the London Cab Drivers' Club. "It feels like they've stabbed us in the back. We just feel really let down." Davis is keen to point out that the problem isn't new technology. "People say black cab drivers are like the mafia or we're dinosaurs who can't move with the times... but with Hailo we embraced technology. I loved Hailo, because all of a sudden as I came into work I was getting jobs in Peckham, Forest Hill, places that used to just be the domain of the local minicab office. That's the old (taxis) and the new (apps) coming together for London." "Hailo was great for drivers," Davis told me. "It opened up London for us." Davis believes that the industry has been shaken up by the arrival of Uber. "Hailo has given black cabs a job, it's promoted the cab trade. But when TFL allowed Uber to come in with their model, it looks like Hailo lost a lot of work to Uber and so investors are saying that if Uber is getting away with it that's the way we've got to go." The disruption of Uber Uber is possibly the best-known and most controversial e-hailing app. Although local authorities in various cities initially opposed Uber's private hire service, it has now been widely accepted: for example, after initially clamping down on the service when it launched as start-up in San Francisco five years ago, California authorities changed their minds and created a new category of transport companies for services like Uber, Lyft and Rideshare. In New York, Uber is now licensed by the taxi authority -- and former NY taxi commissioner Ashwini Chabra just joined Uber as Head of Policy Development and Community Engagement, focusing on "turning complex policy questions into smart answers." It hasn't been a smooth ride everywhere for Uber: the service has come under fire for its controversial 'surge pricing' model of jacking up prices at different times, while the city of Brussels in Belgium recently banned Uber drivers from picking up private passengers. But Uber is now live in 36 countries around the world and is valued at more than $3 billion. Where to? Davis is now recommending GetTaxi to his members as an alternative to Hailo. GetTaxi, founded in 2010, is now live in 24 cities around the world and has tempted a large number of drivers away from Hailo in the past day or two by vowing to stick to just taxis. "We only partner with licensed black taxi drivers," says UK CEO, Remo Gerber. "We hugely value the commitment they show to their passengers, through the safety checks and qualifications they undertake to become a world-famous black taxi driver." "At GetTaxi we have no plans to use Private Hire vehicles -- full stop." "We believe black cab drivers are the best in the world," GetTaxi's chief marketing officer Rich Pleeth told me today. "They have The Knowledge -- jump in a black cab and the driver will know where you need to go and they'll know what roads are closed, so they'll go the best way to get you where you need to be. Meanwhile a minicab will rely on a sat-nav." "We respect Hailo and its founders," Pleeth insists. "Hailo says it wants to offer business a better proposition, and they believe they need private hire to do that. We don't. If businesspeople want an executive car we upgrade them to a (Mercedes-Benz) Vito, which has a privacy screen, it can drive in bus lanes, and it's driven by someone who has done The Knowledge." "We want to get businesspeople where they're going on time. If they were relying on a minicab they'd have missed their multimillion pound deal." Although GetTaxi wouldn't confirm the knock-on effect of Hailo's plans, CNET understands that around 600 drivers have jumped ship since the announcement. Fair's fare Following demonstrations against Uber by taxi drivers in France, the UK's Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association is planning a demonstration on 11 June. London cabbies recently demonstrated their ability to bring parts of the city to a standstill with a protest against taxi arrangements near the Shard skyscraper, blockading streets around London Bridge during the middle of the day. Grant Davis is keen to stress that he is not against e-hailing apps themselves: the LCDC's ire is directed against travel authority Transport for London. "The cab trade hasn't got a problem with Uber; we've got a problem with TFL for licensing Uber," he says. "We've had taxis in London for 300 years and minicabs since the '60s, and they're covered by laws in place to protect Londoners. But the way Uber works, they call it 'disruptive licensing': they turn up in a new area and says 'Bang, this is how we're doing it.' And TFL has just bowed down to them." "For the first time ever, taxis and the private hire trade have both gone to TFL to say that there are laws in place and all we ask is that whoever comes into the market adheres to the law. TFL has let both sides down." Davis believes the Uber effect could have dire consequences. "If they decimate the cab trade and minicab trade in London and just have one tier of 'taxi' -- which is actually just a car -- and that's the Uber tier, then what the public will get is price surges. When it's raining, the cab you used to get home from the club will have doubled in price, but you have to pay what you have to pay because no-one's left standing. Uber's cleared the decks." But Hailo's Ron Zeghibe argues that cabbies must embrace changes in the world of taxis. "The worst thing the taxi industry could do now is deny that things are changing and hold onto the past. Complaining is not a strategy." source: http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/angry-cabbi ... pp-office/ |
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| Author: | Sussex [ Thu May 22, 2014 9:32 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Angry cabbies attack London taxi app office |
I think some in the London Cab trade need to realise not everyone wants to ride in one. I think it makes sense to allow, of all people, the punter to decide what they want to travel in. |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Thu May 22, 2014 11:24 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Angry cabbies attack London taxi app office |
Sussex wrote: I think some in the London Cab trade need to realise not everyone wants to ride in one. I think it makes sense to allow, of all people, the punter to decide what they want to travel in. I think the Hailo team forget their roots and who actually made them a success. |
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| Author: | toots [ Thu May 22, 2014 11:35 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Angry cabbies attack London taxi app office |
captain cab wrote: Sussex wrote: I think some in the London Cab trade need to realise not everyone wants to ride in one. I think it makes sense to allow, of all people, the punter to decide what they want to travel in. I think the Hailo team forget their roots and who actually made them a success. I think you're right, but, it was inevitable 
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| Author: | captain cab [ Fri May 23, 2014 12:09 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Angry cabbies attack London taxi app office |
An open letter to London Taxi Drivers Hailo is now a global business, with operations across three continents. That means we see first hand what’s already happening elsewhere and what’s coming fast to London. Across the world, in cities such as San Francisco, Toronto and Chicago, cabs are under real threat from new players. These companies are not always playing by the rules and the rules are not always being enforced, yet they are popular amongst passengers and they’re taking customers away from traditional taxis in their thousands. Drivers like you are losing their livelihoods because passengers are moving to apps that don’t offer taxis as an option. It’s happening in London. Let’s do something about it. Hailo was founded by taxi drivers and has put more money in forward-thinking cabbies’ pockets than anyone else. When we started, it was a straight fight between taxis and private hire. Now, it’s not so simple. These are tough times that call for tough decisions - and that means doing what’s right, not what’s popular. The easy option is to pretend nothing has changed - that taxis can somehow win by going it alone. But that would be to fail the industry and every driver in it. Instead, we will do whatever it takes to grow work for taxi drivers and keep black cabs relevant to the changing demands of passengers and businesses. That means not ducking the difficult or unpopular decisions, but doing what it takes to keep taxis relevant and competitive. We must make sure taxis are an option available on every passenger’s smartphone. Hailo has applied for a Private Hire operator’s licence in preparation to have the full service that passengers and businesses tell us they want. There is no point burying our heads in the sand - people want a choice and taxis need to be in the mix. A taxi-only app will get isolated and customers will take their money to services without any cabs on offer. It is already happening. Let’s win back that work. Individuals who are in denial of this truth are part of the problem not the solution. The worst thing the taxi industry could do now is deny that things are changing and hold onto the past. Complaining is not a strategy. Every free-thinking driver knows that you’ve got to be in it to win it. Passengers want a choice and if we don’t give them what they want, they will take their money to car apps that don’t offer taxis at all. We need to compete and make sure passengers can choose a taxi when they want one. For example, if we want taxis to take a share of account work, then it is a must that we offer executive cars too. It is better that taxis get 80% of a city bank’s jobs than 100% of nothing. Taxis will always be front and centre of Hailo. Together we’ve done over five million jobs and this is just the start. Let’s move with the times and work out how to win together. Ron Zeghibe, Co-founder and Chairman, Hailo Cant really see what upset the London drivers  ](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
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| Author: | Sussex [ Fri May 23, 2014 6:24 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Angry cabbies attack London taxi app office |
captain cab wrote: I think the Hailo team forget their roots and who actually made them a success. But isn't that often the case. When many PH drivers get their taxi plates, suddenly PH are the scum of the earth. When many later sell their plates, hackneys suddenly are the scum of the earth. |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Fri May 23, 2014 7:22 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Angry cabbies attack London taxi app office |
Sussex wrote: captain cab wrote: I think the Hailo team forget their roots and who actually made them a success. But isn't that often the case. When many PH drivers get their taxi plates, suddenly PH are the scum of the earth. When many later sell their plates, hackneys suddenly are the scum of the earth. that doesn't happen in London 
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| Author: | GBC [ Sat May 24, 2014 4:36 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Angry cabbies attack London taxi app office |
Sussex wrote: I think some in the London Cab trade need to realise not everyone wants to ride in one. I think it makes sense to allow, of all people, the punter to decide what they want to travel in. They can. There must be a dozen or more Minicab Apps available in London. We don't want a brand we've built up being associated with PH, end of. It's pure greed by the funders who haven't made as much money as they thought they would. I don't like yanks at the best of times, but this just shows how naïve they were thinking the London taxi trade is like New York etc with slave labour and expensive plates where we'd doff our caps and say 'thanks'. However what we built up, we can soon dismantle. 'Get taxi' is already seeing an influx of punters and drivers, plus Com Cab, Radio Taxis all have apps now, although I still maintain it's quite easy to make a living by working the streets, ranks, stations and airports, but who am I to stand in the way of people and their mobile phones? |
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| Author: | GBC [ Sat May 24, 2014 4:37 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Angry cabbies attack London taxi app office |
captain cab wrote: Sussex wrote: I think some in the London Cab trade need to realise not everyone wants to ride in one. I think it makes sense to allow, of all people, the punter to decide what they want to travel in. I think the Hailo team forget their roots and who actually made them a success. They've been well reminded over the last 48 hours, trust me. 
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