wrote:
In article ,
(tim.....) wrote:

"JNugent" wrote in message
...
On 30/09/2015 17:49, tim..... wrote:

https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/tph...hire-proposals

so what does the team think?

The law is clear.

"Services" such as Über cannot operate lawfully unless:

(a) each vehicle is tested and licensed before commencing
operations,

(b) each driver applies for a licence, is investigated and not
found ineligible, before commencing operations, and

Uber will claim that they do do (a) and (b)

(I have no idea if they are right or not)

The law requires the state in some form to deal with that, not farm it out
to those who have an interest in ignoring them.

(c) the operator (presumably Über) establishes a base within
Greater London and submits to the appropriate licensing regime,
thereafter complying with the requirements for record-keeping, etc.

and whilst this does seem unnecessarily nanny state, complying with
it isn't impossible for them

They may not have to comply with that bit much long if the Law Commission
report is legislated for. The coalition somehow managed to let it slip, and
not because Lib Dems didn't agree with it so I wouldn't bank on it, though.

Do all of those (especially assessing and licensing the drivers to
weed out dodgy characters) and Über is effectively pointless.

Except that anecdotally, it isn't

Vehicle tests, DBS & Police checks, knowledge tests. Not sure how many could
be credibly done by an operator.


I was talking to someone today who's an enthusiastic Uber user. He reckons
that not only are they typically less than half the price of a black cab,
but the service is much better, too.

He said that on the few occasions when the service wasn't up to standard
(eg, the driver took a different, longer route than the Uber app
recommended), Uber agreed and not only refunded the full fare, but even
paid compensation. It seems Uber keeps a full record of the actual route
the driver took, and so can see if he took the wrong route. He also said
that, unlike black cabs, Uber drivers can't reject a fare if it's not where
they want to go (they only discover the destination after accepting the
booking via the app).

What also works well is the international nature of the service: once
you're signed up, you can use the service anywhere in the world that Uber
operates, without having to register locally. And, of course, you don't
need local cash to do so.

It seems like it would be very unwise for the authorities to try to bring
in new rules that favour out-of-date producer interests rather than
consumers who are enjoying a much better, cheaper service.