Taxi Driver Online

Heathrow car park for Uber drivers after 'local distress'




Heathrow is to open a car park for private hire vehicles after local residents said Uber drivers waiting for fares were causing a "nightmare".

They were "parking in people's driveways, leaving rubbish in gardens" and "causing a huge amount of local distress", according to airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye.

Uber said it was "something we have been calling for many months".

Heathrow already has a car park for black cabs.

'Drivers urinating'

It said the new dedicated parking area would open next month.

Mr Holland-Kaye said: "Private hire vehicles, Uber and their like, have just expanded phenomenally and started to cause a real issue to our local communities."

Drivers were "trying to get as close as possible to the airport to pick up a ride," he added.

Earlier this year Uber blocked bookings for drivers in the Surrey village of Stanwell Moor after residents complained of "nightmare" congestion and confrontations.

County councillor Robert Evans said residents were being stopped from parking outside their houses and he had heard reports of drivers urinating in the road as they were waiting for a long time.

Uber said it had changed its technology "back in January" so its "partner-drivers" would no longer receive requests if they were parked in residential streets around Heathrow.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-36273670

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

This could be a good thing.

A dedicated waiting area for PH/non local taxis with toilet facilities has been needed for years.

Be nice if Gatwick would follow suit.

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IDFIMH

Basically the LA's are allowing PH to rank of a fashion and to act like a Hackney.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

stretching it a bit but they are not doing the local Hackneys any favours. The problem is LHR gets choked with London PH blocking all the drop off lanes so perhaps this is a way to improve things

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Doubt it will be near any punter waiting areas, more likely a field 5/10 mins from the airport.

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IDFIMH

The new car park will be on the site of the old north taxi feeder park on Northern Perimeter Road (between that and the A4 Bath Road).

However, this is likely only to be used by Uber drivers, as that is going to be the only place they'll get requests for airport pick ups.

I understand, they're going to charge a fee of £1 an hour for the first four hours (which will then revert to the standard car park tariff after four hours, which is £21.60), which will probably have to be paid for out of the [Uber] driver's own pocket. They will (or should) still be reimbursed when entering the minimum (<30 min) short stay car park cost at the appropriate terminal, where they collect their passenger.

Because of this £1 an hour charge, I don't see drivers of other PH firms using this car park, for the catering and toilet facilities, where they can continue to do so for free at the various McDonalds along the Bath Road, and supermarkets/petrol stations, around the airport, which offer the same facilities.

Just that, once the new car park opens, these places will be less congested, as all the Uber drivers will have to wait in that new car park for an airport job.

surely they would pick up like all the other PH in the drop off Zones ?

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

I can't speak for other PH companies and their policies for airport pick ups, but Uber drivers have to pick up from the Short Stay Car Park. The GPS on the app is accurate enough to find out whether or not you've entered the car park or not, and picked up at the drop off point. They can easily verify this by asking you to submit a photo of your car park receipt. Failure to pick up from the short stay car park, may result in a ban from drivers doing airport pick ups, and doing this repeatedly, they may kick you off the system altogether.

Obviously, the driver is reimbursed for the car parking, as it's added to the passenger's fare.

I'm not sure that's the way Uber do it.

When I'm up there they usually pick up either from the terminal if the customer books when the plane lands, or in the car park if the punter books in the terminal.

But the issue at hand isn't one of where they pick up, but one of where they wait for their bookings.

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IDFIMH

At Heathrow, Uber pick ups are in the appropriate short stay car park in for that terminal.

On the passenger app, it will tell you exactly where in the car park you need to meet your driver (Level 1, Row F, etc.), the same information will also displayed on the driver app.

You can also meet the passenger in the terminal, if they have trouble finding the car park, and following the instructions on the app as to where to meet...

Regular passengers will know that it will take the driver about 10 minutes to get from one of the waiting areas around the airport to get to the car park, and will tend to time it, so the car is there as they get to the car park, or the app will suggest to the rider to request their car as soon as they've got their luggage.

As I said, Uber will know if a driver picks up at the drop off, (GPS, lack of a parking ticket receipt as evidence), and driver will be dealt with.

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Anyway, they currently wait for their bookings in defined areas around the airport (McDonald's, Tescos, car washes, etc - they are all at commercial/industrial places, and NOT residential areas), determined by Uber, and they cannot receive airport requests if they're not in one of these designated areas. Once a driver waits at once of these areas, they are then placed in a virtual queue.

In essence you are saying that it isn't UBER drivers parking anywhere so it must be other drivers.

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Grandad,

Chauffeur Magazine gives us the latest.

Looks like a biggish car park.

http://www.thechauffeur.com/complete-gu ... king-area/

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IDFIMH

Ah so it will be a pay car park and no prizes for guessing which drivers won't pay and still defecate in suburban streets nearby

or will it be so full of out of town PH AND hackney using it to reduce the car parking charges in the main car parks by waiting there until their flight has been down and is listed baggage arriving that there won't be room after all there are probably more than 1000 hackney/PH at the airport at any given time picking pre booked fares up

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

lots of room to poop in

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

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IDFIMH