Taxi Driver Online

Uber tells Reading councillor it's 'very confident' people want it in town



The company responded to a number of concerns and queries raised by Cllr Tony Page

Uber said it's 'very confident' there is a demand for its services in Reading and denied breaching private hire law when it was grilled by the council's head of transport.

The online taxi dispatch company has applied to Reading Borough Council for an operating licence and it will find out whether its bid is successful on Tuesday, March 8.

But the application has proved to be controversial as Cllr Tony Page, Reading's lead member for strategic environment and planning, and Asif Rashid, chairman of Reading Taxi Association have made objections.

Ahead of the hearing cllr Page raised several concerns and queries about Uber's application and the company responded to each of them.

The councillor said he is not satisfied there is any real demand for Uber in Reading and described the company's claim that thousands of people have used the app in the area to try and book a cab as 'insufficient'.

"We are very confident that there is sufficient demand to warrant a launch in Reading"

But in responses an Uber spokesperson said: "We are very confident that there is sufficient demand to warrant a launch in Reading and would not have submitted an operator licence application were this not the case.

"In the last 90 days the Uber app has been opened over 56,000 times by over 22,000 people.


"This level of demand illustrates that people are keen to start requesting Uber partner-drivers licensed by RBC [Reading Borough Council]."

Cllr Page then argued that using the Uber app is the equivalent of hailing a cab in the street and therefore a breach of private hire law.

He added: "I understand this is the basis of a legal challenge being mounted by Transport for London [TfL]".

Uber retorted: "This is incorrect and to the contrary, TfL have indicated that they belive booking through the Uber app is not the equivalent to hailing a cab in the street.

"This is shown by TfL's licensing of Uber as a private hire operator. There has been no enforcement action in this regards from TfL, whether a formal legal challenge or otherwise.

"Uber is not the equivalent of hailing a cab in the street"

It continued: "The reference here appears to be to the application for Judicial Review of TfL's decision that Uber is not the equivalent of hailing a cab in the street, which was brought by the Licensed Private Hire Car Associaition.

"That application was opposed by TfL, who agreed that using the Uber app was not the equivalent of hailing a cab in the street and did not enable plying for trade."

The councillor also raised concerns about Uber's 'dynamic' pricing system and said it could cause major problems in Reading.

Uber responded with: "Our goal is to always be a reliable option to make bookings for transportation and have a ride when people need it, even at peak times.

"At times when demand significantly outstrips supply, dynamic pricing comes in effect - higher prices are required in order to get partner-drivers on the road and keep them on the road during the busiest times.

"This maximises the number of trips and minimises the number of people stranded. If we did nothing, getting a ride would be near impossible.

"As soon as the demand balance/supply balance evens out, the price comes back down, usually within a very short period of time."

It also stated that many other transport systems have forms of 'dynamic' pricing and insisted its system was 'extremely transparent'.

Uber added: "Many people of course do not necessarily want to ride at those prices - but we place very high value on the availability of an option if they do need to get somewhere in a hurry.

"When surge is in effect, there is also an option to be notified when the price goes back down if they prefer to wait."

The chairman of Reading Taxi Association had previously said that Uber drivers will have no office to park at so they will block up roads around the town centre.

Cllr Page put these concerns to Uber and it argued that the premises it would use at Davidson House has 146 parking spaces and it expects fewer than five drivers to visit the office each day because it does not accept walk ins.

The company also made it clear that its recording and allocation process is comprehensive and it adheres licensing conditions.

All of the questions and answers were recorded and published in a council document.

source: http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/readin ... s-11003408

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

TBH if the councillor raised questions about surge pricing Uber should have told the good councillor to f*ck off and mind his own business.

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

It's quite simple.

If people don't like Uber's way of working, they wont use them.

If Uber breaks it's conditions of license, they will lose their license.

Mr 'thicko' Councillor is merely another publicity making fool for Uber.

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IDFIMH

Uber it appears from their own claims that they do not take bookings for the supply of private hire vehicles but put a person in direct contact with the driver of a private hire vehicle are not complying nor is the driver with the conditions of a Licensed Private Hire Operator.
There is no record of bookings available to be inspected by a Council Enforcement Officer or a Police Officer.
All the drivers of this circuits vehicle must have a Private Hire Operators License in their own name to comply with legislation and keep booking records for inspection on demand.

The whole set up is illegal and would not surprise me if an insurance company investigated any claim the only logical conclusion that they could reach is that the insurance was invalid.

But it goes through their local server in the same way autobook is used by 100s of PH operators currently.

Uber have a 24 hours call centre and will send any details of any bookings to any authorised licensing officer within minutes.

For the reasons above I disagree.

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IDFIMH

You cannot I believe speak to a person at UBER about any booking you have made,people have tried and found it impossible.

Uber's bid to bring taxi app to Reading refused by the council

Licensing leaders refused Uber's bid to branch out into Reading

UBER bosses have been refused permission to bring their app-based taxi booking service to Reading.

Councillors denied the bid after the company failed to prove it could meet the council's guidelines including having a round the clock manned office.

Despite claims more than 20,000 people in the town had tried to access the mobile app in recent months the licensing applications sub-committee also said there was no evidence of demand for the service.

The system uses GPS and mobile data to find the nearest private hire vehicle and developers pride themselves on being able to guarantee quick pick up times by using people's location and a competitive pricing system at busier times.

Speaking at last night's meeting at Reading Borough Council's Civic Offices Thomas Elvidge, general manager at Uber, called on members of the committee to give them the green light.

He said: "We are really excited about coming to Reading and really believe there is demand for the service.

"We can provide and enhancement and [what] for the industry and we really want to be here in Reading to do that."

But councillors were unconvinced and quizzed Mr Elvidge on how customers could get in touch with problems if their office was not manned 24 hours.

Cllr Jeanette Skeats said: "So if there was a problem, and we do get problems sometimes in the trade where officers have to go around to your office, would there be someone in charge?

"The buck has to stop somewhere."

Uber's legal representative assured members that contact could be made by posting a review through the app despite there being no phone number to call.

He said: "If it's to do with a fare then that will be dealt with in one way but - and we hope this would never happen - if there was an allegation of a verbal or physical abuse you would get a phone call from us."

Issues were also raised about the firm's so-called surge pricing model which seeks to discourage certain customers by increasing the cost of a journey at peak times to ensure supply does not outstrip demand.

Asif Rashid, chairman of Reading Taxi Association, said: "I can assure you Reading is a notorious place for bad traffic and for drivers of private hire cars there are places in the town centre they cannot go when it's busy.

"But if those drivers are suddenly stuck in traffic then your surge pricing will kick in."

Mr Rashid added concerns that drunk customers would not be aware how much they were paying until the following day.

Refusing the application for a private hire vehicle operator's licence committee chairman Cllr Paul Woodward said: "Having considered the case and all the representations we have decided to refuse to grant Thomas Elvidge a private hire vehicle operator's licence due to not being considered a fit and proper person."

Their reasons included not meeting the licence conditions, not having a manned office and lack of clarity on vehicle numbers.

Speaking after the meeting an Uber spokesperson said: "Uber has been granted more than 40 operator licences by local councils across the country so we’re extremely surprised and disappointed by last night’s decision.

"In every town and city we operate we bring new economic opportunities for people who want to be their own boss and make money by being a licensed private hire driver.

"Millions of people across the UK regularly use Uber to get a convenient, safe and affordable ride at the push of a button.

"We remain convinced there’s real demand for Uber in Reading as more than 22,000 people in the town have opened our app in the last 90 days alone."

source: http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/ ... e_council/

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

Is Reading Uber decision 'protectionism' or show of 'backbone'? Your reactions revealed


Hundreds of people have come out of either side of the argument for Uber in Reading - some saying the council made the right choice while others have accused members of being out of touch

Councillors in Reading have been accused of "protectionism" and being "out of touch" after taxi app Uber was denied a licence to operate in the borough.

Reading Borough Council’s licensing committee turned down an application by Thomas Elvidge on behalf of Uber Britannia for a private hire operating licence when it met on Tuesday, March 8.

There were three main reasons the council decided to refuse the licence : unmet demand; no idea how many vehicles there would be; and no indication of how and when the office would be manned.

However, the comment campaigners have taken most exception to came from Cllr Marian Livingston who suggested it was difficult to see demand based on 20,000 Uber app downloads in the Reading area.

She said Uber might just be “trawled by phone app junkies who if they don’t have their phone in their hand they think they have had an amputation”.

MrMister wrote on the getreading website: "Cllr Livingston's comment was offensive and out of touch.

"Would she have dared making such value judgment on any other topic? High time for a renewed council more in tune with the people and the times."

"demolish this horrible monopoly"

Many of the comments in support of Uber were also directed at chairman of Reading Taxi Association Asif Rashid who raised concerns about the Uber surge pricing.

Mr Rashid said someone who had “drunk too much” could easily find themselves paying much more than they realised.

But taxi driver kalacabmafia commented: "Wow once again Tony Page has proven beyond doubt his close links with the Black Cab Mafia.

"Well Mr Page, you and your boss Mr Rasheed [sic] will have to fight a court case because this decision will be challenged and I know who's my money on.

"Come on Uber although I'm a cabbie I'm still backing you to demolish this horrible monopoly in Reading."

ah121: "Mind boggling. I've used Uber in a number of cities and I always try to balance it out with using local incumbent services.

"Uber drivers are in general always more courteous; the cars are cleaner and better maintained; they are invariably cheaper; the overall experience is vastly better from a customer standpoint.

"let the market decide"

"Uber is offering an innovation in matching demand for and supply of taxi journeys. If lots of Reading people want taxis, then Uber increases prices to tempt more drivers out onto the roads. Compared to today when people are left standing in the rain for hours on end."

DWild: "The black cabs in Reading are over-priced, over-protected, and frankly a disgrace - every time I have to take one I'm surprised I actually make it home without something falling off one. £8 - £10 for a one mile journey from Reading Station to Whiteknights is monopolistic extortion.

"There is significantly more demand out there - hence the reason there are so many private hire companies - but people I suspect don't want to fulfil that demand with a Reading black cab. And this just smacks of protectionism of not only the existing black cab monopoly but also of buses... no conflict of interest here then."

However not everyone was in support of Uber and many congratulated Reading Borough Council for standing up to the popular tech company.

"those that shout for Uber obviously are not bothered about companies paying tax"

thegreatvatfiddle: "Get Uber to pay vat at the applicable rate on these rides as per HMRC rules. Get Uber to pay corporation tax at Bristol Rates, stop hiding behind the NL company. Stop the smokescreen that it's a technology firm when in fact in the UK it's a private hire operator using owner drivers through their platform. Stop calling drivers partners. As partners have a say on decisions of their business. Uber controls the price and job allocation and charge the drivers a percentage usually 25 per cent then cuts the fare the customer is charged.

"How we have survived without Uber up to now, I will never know. Those that shout for Uber obviously are not bothered about companies paying tax/vat. To pay to treasury for our social policies. (Education/police/OCP pensions/military/ Roads etc.) Just remember this when the Masters are these big corporations that have created a "must have" society. If taxis are too expensive use alternative transport (Uber skateboard)."

UberMuchkin: "I am very happy to see that the Council has actually returned a reasonable decision here.

"Uber has a history of treating workers very poorly (the idea that each employee is actually a self-employed 'contractor' is the subject of multiple lawsuits), their lack of management accountability causes all kinds of problems (if an Uber driver is involved in a crime outside of office hours how do the police contact Uber to pursue an investigation)?"

TilehurstCabby: "Im a Black Cab driver and I am absolutely appalled by the comments on here. People commenting without looking at the bigger picture.

"Unmet demand is true as the wait for a job on average is 45mins (and you may get a fare of £5). If Uber was granted a licence, (which I believe they will as nothing will stop a multi-national corporate entity such as Uber to get what they want, and for you to back them over a working class people is sad) expect traffic in Reading to multiply five times.

"And lastly the pattern of the comments are Black Cabs are extortion. If people are complaining about the price of a Black Cab then why not book a mini cab. Private Hire in Reading is one of the most sophisticated systems i and reach you in the same time as an Uber."

source: http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/readin ... w-11017168

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

Yes lets, lets have the market running everything, because the market works - oh except for the NHS, cant have that, oh, except for education - cant have that either.

People are just plain stupid.

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

I think council officers are given a direct line.

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IDFIMH

It's going to be a fascinating court case.

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IDFIMH

So is Reading council going to refuse all future applications for an operators licence because there is no evidence of a demand, where does it say there has to be a demand before an operators licence is issued for a company? Surely so long as Uber paid for the maximum number of vehicles on a licence I don't see the problem. How do small companies, that don't have somebody available 24/7 cope with meeting the 24 hour availability clause in Reading? Can customers contact Reading council 24/7 to make a complaint that would warrant a visit at an unreasonable hour?

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

As I said it's going to be a fascinating court case.

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IDFIMH