TfL Taxi Consultation to "kill" Uber
 

In message
-septe
mber.org, at 07:45:50 on Mon, 5 Oct 2015, Recliner
remarked:

They can't get customers to book
them on the spot: the booking has to be made through Uber.

They can get the customer to book them through Uber, on the spot.

I don't think they can. You can't pick a particular vehicle to
book through
Uber, can you? And Uber cars aren't marked.

That doesn't matter if you are already sat in it, talking to the driver.

How would you identify it as an Uber car?

Because the driver will have accosted you as you walked along the
pavement.

Surely that's more likely to be how an unlicensed car would behave, rather
than an Uber driver? The latter would be more likely to be automatically
spotted if he behaves in that way, and has more to lose.

Whichever is more likely, Uber drivers do it too.

How do you know?

Because I've read the literature. I've even posted two cites.


https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-an...ompliance-and-
enforcement

No comments?

Still no comments?

Clifford Chance reports some infractions in #3 of this piece (from a
lobbying body, but they won't have made up the quotes):

http://uk.businessinsider.com/ubers-...ifford-chance-
fighting-to-ban-it-here-are-the-5-big-arguments-2015-10

Remind me again of who is paying Clifford Chance?

Doesn't matter, they are top-10 firm who can't be found out making up
quotes. So the things they say must be true.

I wonder if the people they're quoting actually *know* that the offending
drivers work for Uber? Or do they just blame Uber as it's the best known
new-era mini cab firm?

Many of the claims are from other minicab firms, who are in a good
position to identify which competitors they see misbehaving.

And those reports from the police will be based on questioning the
drivers as to who they are working with.
--
Roland Perry

TfL Taxi Consultation to "kill" Uber
 

On 10/4/2015 2:10 PM, JNugent wrote:
On 03/10/2015 09:07, Someone Somewhere wrote:
Seriously?

Because a taxi is - in its very essence - a *private* space which can be
hired by the passenger to the exclusion of others. It is not a bus. If a
bus is what is wanted, buses are available.


What? There's a bus that takes me from Heathrow to outside my house in
Shadwell?

Provided you're willing to change a few times, yes.


More times than the TfL planner can cope with to get outside my house.

TfL Taxi Consultation to "kill" Uber
 

On 10/4/2015 5:07 PM, Neil Williams wrote:
On 2015-10-04 14:10:10 +0000, Roland Perry said:

Yes, and the results in strange overseas cities can often be very patchy.

True, though London, the city in question, has extremely good coverage,
and I have never had issues finding anywhere I wanted to go on it.
Indeed, it is my primary tool for finding places in London whatever mode
of transport I happen to be using.


Oddly enough have a look for Barbican Underground station on google maps
at the moment - it seems to have migrated 150 yds north...

TfL Taxi Consultation to "kill" Uber
 

In message , at 09:25:02 on Mon, 5 Oct
2015, Someone Somewhere remarked:
Yes, and the results in strange overseas cities can often be very patchy.

True, though London, the city in question, has extremely good coverage,
and I have never had issues finding anywhere I wanted to go on it.
Indeed, it is my primary tool for finding places in London whatever mode
of transport I happen to be using.


Oddly enough have a look for Barbican Underground station on google
maps at the moment - it seems to have migrated 150 yds north...

Not quite. Barbican Station is shown in pretty much the right place, in
between Virgin Active Barbican and Tesco Express. There's a blob marked
"Barbican" 150m north that's apparently for the "Barbican Centre."

What's a bit strange, though is that a search for "Barbican Station"
brings up the Barbican Centre location on a layer that doesn't have the
Station marked at all, either with a small square or with a Roundel.

To get the small-square showing the Underground station you have to
click the words "Underground Station" in the results that show the
Barbican Centre. (At which point the layer displayed doesn't have any
Roundels on it [eg at Moorgate]).

And their facility to "Report a Data Problem" doesn't work because
there's no text to click on.

I wonder where the "Report a problem with the 'Report a Data Problem'
function" is??
--
Roland Perry

TfL Taxi Consultation to "kill" Uber
 

In message
-sept
ember.org, at 08:22:04 on Mon, 5 Oct 2015, Recliner
remarked:

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-an...ompliance-and-
enforcement

No comments?

Still no comments?

What's there to comment on? It shows that some private hire drivers don't
follow the rules. I don't think anyone was disputing that.

You appear to be claiming that no Uber drivers fall into that category.
--
Roland Perry

TfL Taxi Consultation to "kill" Uber
 

On 2015-10-04, Neil Williams wrote:
On 2015-10-04 16:14:58 +0000, Eric said:

Of course, but you did seem to present Google Maps as a better answer.

It's an acceptable answer, I'd say.

FSVO...

But it fails and/or misleads, aside from being unavailable at some times
to some people.

Eric
--
ms fnd in a lbry

TfL Taxi Consultation to "kill" Uber
 

In message , at 09:50:35 on Mon, 5 Oct
2015, Roland Perry remarked:

Oddly enough have a look for Barbican Underground station on google
maps at the moment - it seems to have migrated 150 yds north...

Not quite. Barbican Station is shown in pretty much the right place, in
between Virgin Active Barbican and Tesco Express. There's a blob marked
"Barbican" 150m north that's apparently for the "Barbican Centre."

Meanwhile, on iPhone Maps, Barbican Station is shown halfway down the
platform, 50m west of its actual entrance, with no street access at all.
Barbican Centre is shown 200m east of the station.

And I now notice Google Maps has the real Barbican Centre as well. It
appears that the fake Barbican Centre off Fann St is so annotated
because someone has added a photo to Panoramio with the wrong caption.

What's a bit strange, though is that a search for "Barbican Station"
brings up the Barbican Centre location on a layer that doesn't have the
Station marked at all, either with a small square or with a Roundel.

To get the small-square showing the Underground station you have to
click the words "Underground Station" in the results that show the
Barbican Centre. (At which point the layer displayed doesn't have any
Roundels on it [eg at Moorgate]).

Poking around a bit more, if you search Google Maps for "Barbican London
Underground Station, it pinpoints the correct location (of the
entrance). But it puts the Roundel 150m north where the fake Barbican
Centre is!
--
Roland Perry

TfL Taxi Consultation to "kill" Uber
 

In message
-septe
mber.org, at 09:13:59 on Mon, 5 Oct 2015, Recliner
remarked:
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-an...ompliance-and-
enforcement

No comments?

Still no comments?

What's there to comment on? It shows that some private hire drivers don't
follow the rules. I don't think anyone was disputing that.

You appear to be claiming that no Uber drivers fall into that category.

I don't know whether they do or not. I didn't think any firms were
mentioned in that article?

Uber was mentioned in the other article. Enforcement officers identify
Uber cars by the simple expedient of using the Uber app!

One of the tricks the touts do is to park illegally in taxi ranks (hence
the large numbers "moved on" before they have a chance to get a fare and
be prosecuted for plying for hire), and thus force black cabs to
double-park in the street, from where the black cabs are also moved on.
The upshot is that the touts get first dibs on people emerging from
venues near the ranks.
--
Roland Perry

TfL Taxi Consultation to "kill" Uber
 

On Monday, 5 October 2015 11:40:03 UTC+2, Eric wrote:
On 2015-10-04, Neil Williams wrote:
On 2015-10-04 16:14:58 +0000, Eric said:

Of course, but you did seem to present Google Maps as a better answer.

It's an acceptable answer, I'd say.

FSVO...

But it fails and/or misleads, aside from being unavailable at some times
to some people.

Right, but the context here is arranging a journey by Uber. Under what circumstances is it possible to order a car from Uber but be unable to check the route via Apple or Google maps?

Robin

TfL Taxi Consultation to "kill" Uber
 

On 05/10/2015 09:18, Someone Somewhere wrote:
On 10/4/2015 2:10 PM, JNugent wrote:
On 03/10/2015 09:07, Someone Somewhere wrote:
Seriously?

Because a taxi is - in its very essence - a *private* space which
can be
hired by the passenger to the exclusion of others. It is not a bus.
If a
bus is what is wanted, buses are available.


What? There's a bus that takes me from Heathrow to outside my house in
Shadwell?

Provided you're willing to change a few times, yes.


More times than the TfL planner can cope with to get outside my house.

That's a problem you have with buses. Not everyone has it.

The fact that you do is not a good reason for disrupting the legitimate
livelihood of others.