TfL denied Uber operator license, ride hailing service wins on appeal (Sept 2020)
- Thread starter bemused
- Start date
Gromit
International Man of Misery
Investment capital
not-bono-ever
meh
Ramps and disabled access stuff also- not soemthin Uber has to consider innit
phillm
Trolling through Life (TM)
It seems though at least in theory they have considered the disability issue in great detail.
https://accessibility.uber.com/
maomao
普費斯
Many many things. Primarily the lack of organisation and funding on the part of minicab drivers, the presence of many billions of pounds in investment capital ready to fund just about anything that'll fill a gap in the market and the lack of any political will to facilitate any such thing.
binka
!!!!!!!!!
Billions might be a bit much but maybe millions? The sort of money that a union with tens of thousands of members might be able to afford anyway?
Yossarian
⏭️
Yep, Uber loses money on every ride, they were down something ridiculous like $3 billion last year, not much chance of a cooperatively owned venture being willing to lose that kind of money, especially since the whole business model relies on eventually making taxi drivers obsolete.
Raheem
Well-Known Member
Not sure about this. I'm not claiming to have proper knowledge, but the lion's share of Uber's investment in London, I would guess, has been on building its brand and attracting drivers and users (quite a lot also on lawyers and lobbyists, probably). If you're in a situation of being able, potentially, to pick up a large number of orphaned drivers and users, wouldn't the core costs boil down to developing an ap and paying for a non-enormous central admin team? Possibly within the reach of, say, a trade union.
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
yeh. which union's that then?
gmb? don't suppose they've tens of thousands of private hire drivers on the books. nor, i imagine, do the iwgb.
maomao
普費斯
Well they're up against billions. Look up 'Gett'. They're the next big mover in the market. They've just taken over One Transport which owns Radio Taxis (which I believe a long long time ago was co-op).
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
Uber doesn't lose money in the UK, they are doing very well, although most their revenues disappears out of the country, so as to avoid paying taxes here.
Profits at Uber's UK arm doubled last year as its drivers racked up more than £100m in fares
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
There are plenty of apps which do the same thing but with licensed taxis. MyTaxi is one - I use it when I need to get a cab for work, as it also works internationally.
maomao
普費斯
Which is why they'll back the fuck down and this is a storm in a teacup.
About three years ago I worked for a startup who were given the nod to work by the PCO to start working while the operator's license was being processed. A large competitor complained and we immediately had to fuck off out of the building and run operations from another cab office's back room under their license for about a month. We weren't given three weeks to sort our shit out.
Gromit
International Man of Misery
Ah journalism 101.
Can you exaggerate a figure somehow? Yes? Then do it. Okay um Pre-tax profits.
Can't you exaggerate it further? Well we could use the word profits in the headline but then quote turnover instead as that's a bigger number. Great do that.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
Why is an app necessary to get a cab? I sometimes use a local cab service. All I need to do is call them and a cab is there within 5 minutes. I often don't even need to tell them where I'm going or where I need to pick up from, I just press another key. Much better than using up precious memory on my phone.
binka
!!!!!!!!!
Poverty of ambition. I'm a dreamer what else can I say?
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
It's a headline FFS, designed to grab attention, and pull you in to read the article, nowt wrong with that.
bemused
Well-Known Member
Because I don't need to use cash. I use Uber all over the place and it is nice not to messing around with cash.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
that's a good reason NOT to use Uber or a cab app - cos you can't use cash!
maomao
普費斯
That's your local company round the corner. Five minutes till they're busy one day and they quote you an hour. The big firms in central London aimed for twenty minute pickups for years. Addison Lee got that down to fives and tens and Uber make Addison Lee look slow. I walked out of Newbury Park station and got a car in under two minutes the other day (more broken down trains and I just wanted to get home). Noone except Uber has been able to do that in London. It's not so much the software as the amount of vehicles that allows them to do this. Addison Lee's software could probably do the same if they had as many drivers.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
It's the perfect reason to use them, between that and being able to use my phone for contactless payments I'm struggling to remember the last time I actually used cash at anything other than a corner shop for a bag of crisps.
bemused
Well-Known Member
It is a good reason for me.
TruXta
tired
((((dealers))))
although I guess online folks are all about bitcoins these days
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
The key is getting the drivers, which is why Uber launched with an offer IIRC to take just 10% commission, then once they hooked the drivers, that went up to IIRC 25% now!
Uber's model is wipe out mini-cab firms, followed by the black cabs, then the drivers themselves, as they replace them with driver-less cars, which I guess will solve the problem of sexual assaults.
editor
hiraethified
Because some people like the reassurance of knowing the driver's name and number plate in advance, and the reassurance of seeing their progress on a map, so they know when they're actually going to show up. It also makes sure the driver knows where you are to pick you up.
I'll take the convenience of an app over ringing up a cab office every time.
DJWrongspeed
radio eros
The black cabs have been moaning alot but TFL didn't do anything for a few year lets be honest.
Uber have just not signed up to the regulations properly and let the police down also.
TFL are "Transport FOR London" it's in the name.
There's been a big problem with the congestion zone being eroded by Uber and their dangerous driving antics. It erodes the bus service with more congestion and takes away passengers, makes many perfectly fit and healthy people lazy (I've seen 1st hand and sure everyone has).
London has limited road space. It's TFL's job to manage that. Uber isn't gone forever but TFL must make sure all transport works together.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
I will always favour cash on a night out, so I can keep track of what I'm spending.
ShiftyBagLady
Thinks she is a flower to be looked at
You've got a point but it's more dangerous to be calling a cab in the middle of nowhere where someone might see you and roll up and say they are a cab. In my cab taking days I'd spend ages waiting and calling to see why it's late, standing in the cold... my experience of cabs has not been a good one. I've not had a bad trip with uber and it has made many a night out easier and more enjoyable as I know that I can get one from just about anywhere in London without having to look it up.
binka
!!!!!!!!!
You can use cash
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