On Tue, Oct 06, 2015 at 04:57:02PM +0100, JNugent wrote:
On 06/10/2015 14:25, David Cantrell wrote:
It's the same selfish reason that drives black cab Luddites to whine
about losing their monopoly.
What monopoly?

Oh dear. Thank god that I normally use Uber cabs driven by immigrants
instead of anything driven by you, because they, unlike you, actually
understand the English language.

--
David Cantrell | top google result for "topless karaoke murders"

Godliness is next to Englishness

On Wed, 07 Oct 2015 13:06:05 +0100
David Cantrell wrote:
On Tue, Oct 06, 2015 at 04:57:02PM +0100, JNugent wrote:
On 06/10/2015 14:25, David Cantrell wrote:
It's the same selfish reason that drives black cab Luddites to whine
about losing their monopoly.
What monopoly?

Oh dear. Thank god that I normally use Uber cabs driven by immigrants
instead of anything driven by you, because they, unlike you, actually
understand the English language.

Since anyone can become a black cab driver if they want to learn the
knowledge I really don't see the problem. Is there something stopping those
immigrants driving you around in some knackered toyota from learning it?

--
Spud

On Tue, Oct 06, 2015 at 04:57:20PM +0100, JNugent wrote:
On 06/10/2015 14:37, David Cantrell wrote:
On Mon, Oct 05, 2015 at 06:18:59PM +0100, JNugent wrote:
On 05/10/2015 16:02, y wrote:
JNugent wrote:
The word "cab" has a legal definition.
Is english your 2nd language? When 2 words are combined they generally no
longer mean the same as each original word. For example: a riverbus isn't a
red double decker that happens to float.
The word "cab" still has a legal definition, even if you wish it didn't.
So does "bus".
Does it?
What is it?

The definition isn't relevant, all that matters is that it exists and is
at odds with what a "data bus" is. And yet, despite that, data buses
continue to exist.

Well, the same applies to "cab" and "mini cab".

TfL - you know, the body responsible for licensing the things - agrees:
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/taxis-and-minicabs/

If you really care, then look at the construction and use regulations.
But I don't recommend it, they're incredibly dull.

--
David Cantrell | http://www.cantrell.org.uk/david

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life
-- Samuel Johnson

On Tue, Oct 06, 2015 at 04:40:00PM +0100, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at
05:10:58 on Tue, 6 Oct 2015, remarked:
I'm talking about the very right wing "Devil take the hindmost" approach
to those not kitted out with all the very latest expensive technology.
A smartphone with GPS and access to google maps is not "the very latest
expensive technology", it's cheap commodity off the shelf technology
that most people already have. You can buy an android handset SIM free
for about ?100 these days.
And roaming data?

Data coverage is pretty much universal in London, and if you're in a
local black spot walking a few yards in any direction will fix that for
you.

Roaming is cheap in the EU, but in any case if you're travelling abroad
then you can jolly well afford a few bytes. It'll cost peanuts compared
to your travel and accomodation.

--
David Cantrell | Hero of the Information Age

Guns aren't the problem. People who deserve to die are the problem.

On 07/10/2015 07:40, wrote:
In article ,
(JNugent) wrote:

On 06/10/2015 01:09, wrote:

In Cambridge the station forecourt taxi rank is not public highway. This
means the railway charges taxi drivers a tidy annual sum for access and
limits it to only some hackney carriages. Any activity with queues could
only happen with the co-operation of the railway company. I tried to get
the council to insist that the new rank being created in the current
station redevelopment would be public highway but this was successfully
resisted by the railway industry.

There has to be another taxi rank further from the station but on the
public highway to allow for the next time the railway company tries to
raise the charges excessively to a level the trade won't pay. Happened
in BR days and again 25 years later.

It stinks but the local authorities seem powerless to stop the scam.

I have heard of these "pay to get onto the rank" schemes before.

BR don't do it everywhere (not in London or Liverpool, that's
certain), but it always causes bad feeling when they di it.

Whether it's done presumably depends on the presence of railway-owned land.
Did they do it at London termini in the days when taxi ranks were between
the platforms?

No.

Isn't it done at Heathrow?

No.

On 07/10/2015 08:27, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 19:21:45 on Tue, 6 Oct
2015, Neil Williams remarked:

And roaming data?

£2/day if you're an O2 user. It's getting more sensibly affordable.

That's only in Europe. Their standard rates outside Europe are £1/MB it
seems.

If you have unlimited data and unlimited calls within the UK on a Three
package, it also applies at the same rates (ie, inclusive) in the USA
and loads of other places.

But you have, of course, to pay international rates for calls within the
USA (or wherever).

On 07/10/2015 10:58, David Walters wrote:
On Wed, 7 Oct 2015 08:26:10 +0000 (UTC), y wrote:
Uber are not disrupting other service providers. They are competing
with them and they are not unregulated. TfL have confirmed that Uber
are conforming to the same regulations as other London minicab firms.

Oh really? So Uber saying they conform is good enough is it? Anyone done
any spot checks? Its rather easy with a minicab firm that has an office, not
so much when its just some guy with a car and a phone linked to customers
via a server in the USA.

Uber London Limited have a Private hire Operator Licence (#7979) and an
office in Tower Hamlets (1st Floor Aldgate Tower, 2 Leman Street). TfL
say they have done compliance checks.

Uber cannot guarantee that every one of their drivers has hire and
reward insurance. Or a "private hire" licence for the vehicle or for
himself.

Operators need more hands-on contact with the drivers to be anywhere
near sure of that.

On 07/10/2015 11:04, y wrote:

On Wed, 7 Oct 2015 10:58:05 +0100
David Walters wrote:
y wrote:

Uber are not disrupting other service providers. They are competing
with them and they are not unregulated. TfL have confirmed that Uber
are conforming to the same regulations as other London minicab firms.

Oh really? So Uber saying they conform is good enough is it? Anyone done
any spot checks? Its rather easy with a minicab firm that has an office, not
so much when its just some guy with a car and a phone linked to customers
via a server in the USA.

Uber London Limited have a Private hire Operator Licence (#7979) and an
office in Tower Hamlets (1st Floor Aldgate Tower, 2 Leman Street). TfL
say they have done compliance checks.

So they've done background checks on all the drivers have they? Yeah, right.

Quite.

On Tue, Oct 06, 2015 at 08:56:54AM +0000, y wrote:
On Tue, 6 Oct 2015 07:12:13 +0200
Robin9 wrote:
The scare propaganda is FUD put out by the black cab trade
because they are not willing to compete in the open market on
even terms and want instead to have their competition made
illegal.
Presumably Ubers fake taxis are FUD too?
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/ubers-phantom-cabs

It's certainly not something I've come across. If the app says that
there's an available car nearby, then I get picked up quickly.

And lets not forget about their "surge" pricing, when black cabs and most
minicabs have a fixed rate.

So? You know in advance if you'll be affected. If you don't like it, you
can pick another mode of transport. With a black cab though, you won't
find out until you're stuck in a traffic jam.

Uber is nothing more than another bunch of silicon valley slimeballs who move
in unregulated

As far as I know they have always been regulated in London, and have
always operated as a minicab company.

--
David Cantrell | Minister for Arbitrary Justice

23.5 degrees of axial tilt is the reason for the season

On 07/10/2015 13:06, David Cantrell wrote:

On Tue, Oct 06, 2015 at 04:57:02PM +0100, JNugent wrote:
On 06/10/2015 14:25, David Cantrell wrote:

It's the same selfish reason that drives black cab Luddites to whine
about losing their monopoly.

What monopoly?

Oh dear. Thank god that I normally use Uber cabs driven by immigrants
instead of anything driven by you, because they, unlike you, actually
understand the English language.

Let us imagine, for a moment, that I am a licensed all-London (green
badge) cab driver.

What monopoly do I have?

Do I have a monopoly on renting a licensed cab from a proprietor?

Do I have a monopoly on obtaining credit to buy a cab from Mann & Overton?

Do I have a monopoly on buying from M&O for cash?

Do I have a monopoly on getting a (bought) cab tested and licensed by
the PCO?

Do I have a monopoly on obtaining a taxi-meter (whether rented or bought
outright)?

Even after jumping through all those non-monopolistic hoops, when I'm
finally out on the road, do I have a monopoly of the potential fares, or
do the other (approx) 22,000 (sorry: 21,999) cab-drivers have an effect
on it?