Should Uber "cabs" be allowed?
 

This is the biggest start up in the world worth around 50 odd billion already
in short its an app where people book cars to pick them up

uber cars or cabs do not pay licensing fees to the local councils like all other taxi firms,(the say theyre not a taxi firm theyre a cr share firm with meters ?) they do not license their drivers with their councils like all other taxi firms, they cannot be inspected 24 hours a day 365 days a year, like all other taxis, in fact they cant be inspected at all by taxi licensing officers. they also don't need to pass the local knowledge tests like all other taxis in the uk ...how that makes them as safe as taxis I will never know...even their meters are different and not under the rules of local councils

in short they have their own rules and don't have to pay either

they've been in around 100 countries, kicked out of parts of 15 countries, banned from brazil and parts of india and s Africa...riots in canade, sued for 400 million there...riots in france....now theyre in London for a few years and they have nearly 20,000 cars on the road, expect that to double soon.

London cabbies meanwhile have fallen by over 5% in the last few years and their takings have dropped a lot...boris Johnson has done nothing and the media have ignored the story... uber can afford to charge much less to customers IN THE SHORT TERM to kill off competition ,as theyre funded by goldman sachs and google ventures, etc corporations who pay tiny amounts in tax and therefore have tens maybe 100s of billions to spare. then they can raise p[rices long term when they have the monopoly....BUT uber have a google spin doctor nw promoting them, she was god parent to david camerons late child ivan. you couldn't make this stuff up....now theyre in wales and Scotland too, happy days

100S OF THOUSANDS of cabbies redundant across the globe
the only ones who remain will be be beholdent to uber

FRIGHTENING

Uber is the best thing that's ever happened in the cab industry.

The old cabs need to die the same way the telegraph died when the telephone was invented. good riddance.

I use uber taxis when I'm in Bucharest because the yellow taxi cabs will try anything to rip you off. The ones I use can't be flagged on the street though, you have to pre-book them so they are more like a private taxi.

London cabs are great because there's so many of them, they are easily recognised and most of Londons taxi users use the flag down system.

I didn't even realise there were uber taxis in London but if they are, they can't just stop in the street. The taxi has to be booked ahead of the ride. I would of thought this would have a much more detrimental effect on private cabs but not black cabs.

adapt or die.
I would rather get a cab when i need it rather than when im told it will arrive.
There is no reason why the traditional cabbies cant adapt their business model to move themselves into the 21st century if they dont then they vanish.
Uber wouldnt be successful if the old fashioned style of Taxis hadnt become stuck in their ways and failed to give their customers what they wanted.

Ubers are lifesavers so yeah they should be allowed!

I've flagged Ubers down before.I know you're not meant to but they'll stop if they have'nt got a job on.

Don't think they have them here, if they did I would use all of the time. Taxi fares are getting ridiculous and I am sick of them not turning up, or coming half an hour late.

If they arrive the Price goes right down


Uber are the Future

"riots in france..."


Yes Typical of France
hates changes

I think Black Cab drivers should be protected


If I lived in London again no daughter of mine would be using uber

Black cabs only in London. Never a minicab... and Ubercabs are just minicabs for the 21st Century.

that's the problem really, uber may be cheap and convenient, but with that comes risk. A single person travelling needs to know that they will be safe.

I've been in countries where its the norm for people to basically offer a paid hitch hiking service. Its very convenient but dodgy as hell.

Adapt or be consumed.

These firms need to look at why Uber is popular and try to adapt it for their own businesses.

they are unlicensed, they cannot be inspected by the local government or tested by local government like every other taxi in the uk and their drivers are not licensed with local government either....this means ubers expenses are way lower and they can then afford to have lower prices because their expenses are lower (no costs for private hire licenses, no costs for driver badges, no vosa test costs, no threat of the councils taking your cars off the road if found in poor condition, no taxi signs, no council taxi meters, no legal requirement to calibrate the meters etc) they don't even have to pass the local knowledge test like all other taxi firms. (knowledge tests are as hard as degree course exams, in some cases harder, it takes years to study for) they don't even need to show their fleet insurance to the local council? taxis have to send in their mots, licenses per vehicle, per driver, insurances, log books , they also have to appear before council committees whenever ANY points get added to their drivers licenses. this is also massive cost in terms of money and time.

competition is fine, the app is fine, the fact its NOT a level playing field and they don't have to abide by the same rules and laws as everyone else is an absolute outrage.

To be fair, i have four (yeah, four) customers who drive... Err... "Taxis" that are just their car with a glowing sign on the top that they probably bought on eBay. Drive people around for a prearranged fare, cash in hand, never declare a penny of it. This isn't a group that works together, mind, four totally separate guys that happen to be doing the same dodgy ****.

I think two have been caught and reported... They just get a slap on the wrist and carry on doing it :shrug:.

I can always ask for a female uber driver if it would make me feel safer. Saying that, I've only used them abroad and been much happier with them than the taxi drivers who drive like idiots and then try telling you their metre is broken.

As for the French protesting...why? French people who don't have a car just hitch hike.

Well, people are able to make money from it as well as people getting cheaper rides to where they want to be, so I actually think Ubers are fine. I don't think they will replace taxis but they will undoubtedly hinder the profits of the cab companies.

Theyre drivers are not licensed or checked by the local government like all other taxis, so you nor any customers know anything about the drivers. Theyre totally unregulated. This is why when things have gone wrong uber have faced enormous claims made against them. You are much safer in a regulated taxi with a regulated taxi driver.

According to what I've just read you have to have a suitable car, a private cab licence as well as adequate insurance (commercial private hire insurance).

Some uber drivers will brake the law and so will some licensed taxi cabs. When a work colleagues car was hit by a commercial taxi a few years ago, it turned out that the taxi was being driven by the nephew of the licensed driver. They have been trying to clam down on Indian families with a single driver licence, using that licence for the entire male side of the family.

Infinitely more uber drivers / cars will break the law and will be less safe simply because theyre not checked nor regulated.

They are inspected by someone better than the local government. they are inspected by the local POPULACE. because of the strict rating system. Why is there no rating system for the normal taxi drivers?

Exactly Alex. I would much rather get in a car that lots of people are happy with rather than some creepy nutter that gets inspected once a year to get a meaningless badge.