Taxi Driver Online

Fascinating blog by a fella who has trawled through piles of FoI replies.

https://zelo-street.blogspot.co.uk/2018 ... legal.html

It appears even the Foreign Office got involved.

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IDFIMH

Interesting that much of the illegality thing is based on the claim that the app was a taximeter, and thus prohibited in private hire cars. The courts found in Uber's favour, but the author fails to mention that in his blog.

Of course, the political machinations were covered at great length in the Daily Mail last year.

It's more the driver accepting the job first that is and was the issue seeing that they have admitted it in a court of law.

Bit more in The Badge magazine.

http://lcdc.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/ ... -Badge.pdf

Scroll down the pages and the mag also gives a view on Uber's profits, or should I say loses.

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IDFIMH

Life's too short to go through it all with a fine tooth comb, but impression I got by skim reading was that the meter issue was slightly more dominant, and at best it was about 50/50.

But little point in discussing which issue dominated the documents - I simply said 'much' of stuff was about the meter, which could mean more *or* less of it.

Anyway, the booking argument to me seems all a bit technical and semantic rather than the more important stuff like safety, driver's wages and the self-employment issue.

I mean, how do the apps used by conventional taxi and private firms differ from Uber's with regard the booking process? Is the difference really that important?

You'd have thought a simple software tweak would sort it all out, or the Law Commission could have properly addressed the issue, but, er, um...

Cannot get my head around the decision, it clearly states in the Act that any device used to calculate the fare is a meter.

But obviously the Act wasn't clear enough for the courts

Most firms take the booking then decide which car gets the work, Uber find the car first then take the booking.

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IDFIMH

Judge said it was a fare calculator based on GPS, not a meter based on wheels turning.

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IDFIMH

Yes, and that's why it all seems simply a technical argument to me, particularly as per the new app in another recent thread, where customers can pick their favourite driver (which was always possible by more conventional booking methods anyway).

Even if Uber's method doesn't conform to the letter of the law, does it really make any difference as regards what operator licensing is intended to do? It certainly doesn't to me.

I’m not convinced that Uber’s operating process is in breach of the 1976 Act, or maybe the 1998 London PH Act, but that’s not really what TfL are saying.

They are saying Uber misled them as to how their booking process works, in effect not allowing TfL to consider if Uber where in breach of the 1998 Act.

From memory TfL haven’t made a determination as to the legality of Uber’s process, just a tad miffed that Uber mugged theyM off for a number of years.

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IDFIMH