Yeah I've only ever taken one uber in my life, I prefer to walk or get the train / tube. The one uber I took did save me a bit though and I was hammered and staggering the streets of some suburban hole in the early hours. It would have been a very very long walk had it not been for uber.
TfL denied Uber operator license, ride hailing service wins on appeal (Sept 2020)
- Thread starter bemused
- Start date
Yeah I've only ever taken one uber in my life, I prefer to walk or get the train / tube. The one uber I took did save me a bit though and I was hammered and staggering the streets of some suburban hole in the early hours. It would have been a very very long walk had it not been for uber.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
It won't inconvenience me at all, as the vast majority of my travel round London is in Black cabs. But if the Uber drivers are anything like the ones up here in Birmingham they all vastly prefer driving for them than they do traditional minicab firms - the flexability and safety being the major points they all say when asked about it.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
Workers get used to being exploited so they don't complain about one marginally less exploitative employer
And presumably all the licensing stuff and lack of background checks on drivers is irrelevant?
I don't really mind either way but we spend a lot of time on this site complaining how shyster companies just trample over laws, tax laws etc, yet here we have an authority doing what they are supposed to do and actually standing up to a mega corporate beast yet its a "ridiculous decision". Bit odd unless I've missed something.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
Urban's changed. 
Spymaster
Plastic Paddy
Depends whether or not you swallow the anti-Uber propaganda that gets punted around, particularly in light of the fact that we have a private hire professional on this very thread, basically saying that Uber are pretty much standard (or better) for the industry as a whole. You also don't have to be a workers rights crusader to sympathise with 40,000 drivers potentially looking for new jobs, many of whom will be saddled with expensive vehicle finance contracts.
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
so thats one yes from teaboy and one no from spymaster
bemused
Well-Known Member
TfL licensed Uber before, they've not identified specific failings between the original license and the renewal; the only thing that has changed is the leadership at City Hall. This is a negotiation plain and simple.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
I guess this is one of those "London is different" things, because here in Birmingham at least an Uber driver has to have exactly the same license/checks as any other minicab driver.
If that's not the case in London, why? Simply put that in place and problem solved.
maomao
普費斯
Exactly. If I was in charge of Uber I would be backing the fuck down on all of the points TFL have highlighted. Drop Greyball in London and kick some arses round the fleet dept to ensure they are compliant with the first three points. This isn't about worker rights and London is probably one of their few straight up profitable markets.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
#NATIONALISEUBER
It is the case, but when someone doesn't follow that rule..................
Yeah as I said at the start I reckon this is all about Greyball. I think you're right though, it's hard to see how this would have happened with Johnson running the show.
Get Corbyn on the phone. I think its a vote winner.
maomao
普費斯
They were warned and given a four month temporary license to give them time to get their shit together and comply. Whether in terms of resources or incompetence their London fleet dept is not up to the task and has failed to do so. What else could TFL do? It's Uber's failing not TFL singling them out. I've sat through dozens of PCO inspections, the rules are strict but very clear.
maomao
普費斯
A network of co-ops like the ones that exist in many parts of the country (I know the Edinburgh ones are very successful) would be very good. If I win Euromillions...
Crispy
The following psytrance is baṉned: All
I am 100% behind your policy.
The couple of Über drivers in London I asked said it was a good deal. Who are you to infantilise them, you don't even sit in the front to ask. Which to me is weirdly childlike.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
false consciousness
Big words from the booster seat.
maomao
普費斯
There is no umlaut on the U in the company name.
It is and it isn't a good deal. 3 years ago they had the best deal in town (which is how they got all the drivers) but they've dropped rates and increased commission considerably since then.
The Fornicator
Active Member
Well, the market is the market - it won't suddenly shrink, and there are thousands of local minicab offices, as well as apps that compare different minicab companies.
I wonder if the timing - the first licence renewal after the 24-hour tube started - is interesting (of course not all the tube is open).
Fwi, I think licencing and the wider law (employment, tax, date, etc) is still trying to catch up with these silicon valley new Victorians, hell bent as they are to exploit the space between them and local markets before their little dotcom bubble bursts.
After Johnson turned a blind eye for 4 years, Mayor Khan is applying the brakes is all. It's not over - there are $10 billions in the game now and, in case of any doubt, it is about the car leasing more than Uber itself - Goldman Sachs aren't funding Uber for cab fares.
This is new unsecured mortgage game - wrap up the vehicle debt in other securities and ride the wave.
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agricola
a genuine importer of owls
Uber's PR firms are certainly earning their money today - I've seen Sky, BBC and CNN all repeating the claim that 3.5 million Londoners use Uber (which is probably based on the Uber press release where it actually said that 3.5 million people had downloaded its app, which may itself be that the app was downloaded 3.5 million times).
The Fornicator
Active Member
Isn't that more downloads than tax paid in the UK?
maomao
普費斯
The leasing side of it is huge but in turnover terms a back of a fag packet calculation suggests in London it's equivalent to about 15-20% of Uber's turnover and the turnover from leasing is lower than Uber's cut of the fare money. And that would be if every Uber driver leased, which they don't.
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