Uber and the London Cabbies

[joefrombow]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27733971 By the looks of it Central London's going to be very gridlocked tomorrow going to be a lot of Curtailments and Delays ! Does anyone agree with what the Cabbies are doing though standing up for their trade or is it time they moved with the times and let a little bit of competition in ??

[snoggle]

I don't know all the ins and outs of this specific issue but the Black Cab trade is a last bastion of old fashioned "closed shop" tactics and monopoly. Given the usual political "bent" of many taxi drivers I find it deeply ironic that they do not favour all out competition, innovation and "fighting to the death" for the last passenger and their fare. They prefer to have a nice tightly controlled monopoly, restrictive practices that don't necessarily benefit the passenger and high barriers to entry (custom designed vehicles, The Knowledge).

I don't actually view taxis as public transport (a minority view I know) and I think they are a major contribution to congestion to pollution. What is ironic is that Boris "cuddled up" to the taxi trade in 2008 and 2012 to get their votes and, of course, the taxi trade believe the Mayor "owes them" big time. A driver interviewed by BBC London said something like "TfL should be doing what we tell them to do". Talk about arrogance!

Now the taxi trade hate TfL with a passion and the Mayor is not in their good books because he hasn't done what they want to protect their cosy old monopoly. I've only used a black cab in London twice in 30 years and one of those occasions was forced on me by work colleagues (I'd happily have taken the tube). I know a lot of people like cabs and are happy to pay for them but I'd happily see them abolished tomorrow - ditto for minicabs and Addison Lee etc in Zones 1 and 2. I can see why people may want to use minicabs in the outer areas and I'm pleased TfL have regulated and licensed that trade - it certainly needed it.

I don't think the cabbies should be blocking Central London and the fact the Met have imposed conditions on their protest makes it highly likely we will see cabbies being arrested on Wednesday as I think they're so cross with TfL that they'll breach the Met's conditions.

[Steve80]

Ok I think I got it. The taxis are having this protest because the Uber drivers are using a similar system to the taximeter used by the Black Cabs. I'm guessing that customers can download the Uber app and see for themselves how much the fare would cost and the exact route?

I don't think the Black Cabs have anything to worry about though. Anywhere in Central London they are there. And when coming out of a station (such as East Croydon) you can simply walk up to one and it will take you to where you need to go. You don't have to worry about booking a minicab over a phone only to be told that there's no minicab for 40 minutes or so.

[vjaska]

Jun 10, 2014 23:48:29 GMT snoggle said:

I don't know all the ins and outs of this specific issue but the Black Cab trade is a last bastion of old fashioned "closed shop" tactics and monopoly. Given the usual political "bent" of many taxi drivers I find it deeply ironic that they do not favour all out competition, innovation and "fighting to the death" for the last passenger and their fare. They prefer to have a nice tightly controlled monopoly, restrictive practices that don't necessarily benefit the passenger and high barriers to entry (custom designed vehicles, The Knowledge).

I don't actually view taxis as public transport (a minority view I know) and I think they are a major contribution to congestion to pollution. What is ironic is that Boris "cuddled up" to the taxi trade in 2008 and 2012 to get their votes and, of course, the taxi trade believe the Mayor "owes them" big time. A driver interviewed by BBC London said something like "TfL should be doing what we tell them to do". Talk about arrogance!

Now the taxi trade hate TfL with a passion and the Mayor is not in their good books because he hasn't done what they want to protect their cosy old monopoly. I've only used a black cab in London twice in 30 years and one of those occasions was forced on me by work colleagues (I'd happily have taken the tube). I know a lot of people like cabs and are happy to pay for them but I'd happily see them abolished tomorrow - ditto for minicabs and Addison Lee etc in Zones 1 and 2. I can see why people may want to use minicabs in the outer areas and I'm pleased TfL have regulated and licensed that trade - it certainly needed it.

I don't think the cabbies should be blocking Central London and the fact the Met have imposed conditions on their protest makes it highly likely we will see cabbies being arrested on Wednesday as I think they're so cross with TfL that they'll breach the Met's conditions.

I agree with everything except for the bit about removing minicabs from Zones 1 & 2 - I live in Zone 2 and a minicab is a useful tool when you get somewhere quickly - it's also helpful for elderly people who haven't got the legs to walk to a bus stop (my nan has her good days & bad days so she often rotates between the bus and a minicab). The vast majority of minicab drivers are friendly & give a reasonable price unlike Black Cabs & Addison Lee.

[Deleted]

Jun 10, 2014 23:48:29 GMT snoggle said:

I don't know all the ins and outs of this specific issue but the Black Cab trade is a last bastion of old fashioned "closed shop" tactics and monopoly. Given the usual political "bent" of many taxi drivers I find it deeply ironic that they do not favour all out competition, innovation and "fighting to the death" for the last passenger and their fare. They prefer to have a nice tightly controlled monopoly, restrictive practices that don't necessarily benefit the passenger and high barriers to entry (custom designed vehicles, The Knowledge).

I don't actually view taxis as public transport (a minority view I know) and I think they are a major contribution to congestion to pollution. What is ironic is that Boris "cuddled up" to the taxi trade in 2008 and 2012 to get their votes and, of course, the taxi trade believe the Mayor "owes them" big time. A driver interviewed by BBC London said something like "TfL should be doing what we tell them to do". Talk about arrogance!

Now the taxi trade hate TfL with a passion and the Mayor is not in their good books because he hasn't done what they want to protect their cosy old monopoly. I've only used a black cab in London twice in 30 years and one of those occasions was forced on me by work colleagues (I'd happily have taken the tube). I know a lot of people like cabs and are happy to pay for them but I'd happily see them abolished tomorrow - ditto for minicabs and Addison Lee etc in Zones 1 and 2. I can see why people may want to use minicabs in the outer areas and I'm pleased TfL have regulated and licensed that trade - it certainly needed it.

I don't think the cabbies should be blocking Central London and the fact the Met have imposed conditions on their protest makes it highly likely we will see cabbies being arrested on Wednesday as I think they're so cross with TfL that they'll breach the Met's conditions.

I have always wondered why taxis are treated any differently to personal cars when they provide exactly the same purpose and level of pollution and congestion. Particularly being allowed to use bus lanes - why does a taxi (essentially a car) carrying potentially just one person have the right to the same priority as a bus that could be carrying 80?

[M1104]

In relation to the events bus tickets are presently being accepted on the London underground within zone 1.

[joefrombow]

I think that there does need to be more change in the industry there is nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition as most people will still use black cabs due to the simplicity and being able to pay in cash , I also think if you have gave up three years of your life to do the knowledge you must have some privileges though like being able to use Bus lanes and having ranks and so on , I don't like the idea of Massive corporations taking work or money out of the "working man's" pocket ! But realistically as with everything else we have to move with the times. In America Google already has a self driving autonomous vehicle being tested in another 10 years or so I think we will have them on the streets here and in another 20 Buses, Lorries and the like .

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqSDWoAhvLU

[vjaska]

Jun 11, 2014 11:14:50 GMT @mredd said:

Jun 10, 2014 23:48:29 GMT snoggle said:

I don't know all the ins and outs of this specific issue but the Black Cab trade is a last bastion of old fashioned "closed shop" tactics and monopoly. Given the usual political "bent" of many taxi drivers I find it deeply ironic that they do not favour all out competition, innovation and "fighting to the death" for the last passenger and their fare. They prefer to have a nice tightly controlled monopoly, restrictive practices that don't necessarily benefit the passenger and high barriers to entry (custom designed vehicles, The Knowledge).

I don't actually view taxis as public transport (a minority view I know) and I think they are a major contribution to congestion to pollution. What is ironic is that Boris "cuddled up" to the taxi trade in 2008 and 2012 to get their votes and, of course, the taxi trade believe the Mayor "owes them" big time. A driver interviewed by BBC London said something like "TfL should be doing what we tell them to do". Talk about arrogance!

Now the taxi trade hate TfL with a passion and the Mayor is not in their good books because he hasn't done what they want to protect their cosy old monopoly. I've only used a black cab in London twice in 30 years and one of those occasions was forced on me by work colleagues (I'd happily have taken the tube). I know a lot of people like cabs and are happy to pay for them but I'd happily see them abolished tomorrow - ditto for minicabs and Addison Lee etc in Zones 1 and 2. I can see why people may want to use minicabs in the outer areas and I'm pleased TfL have regulated and licensed that trade - it certainly needed it.

I don't think the cabbies should be blocking Central London and the fact the Met have imposed conditions on their protest makes it highly likely we will see cabbies being arrested on Wednesday as I think they're so cross with TfL that they'll breach the Met's conditions.

I have always wondered why taxis are treated any differently to personal cars when they provide exactly the same purpose and level of pollution and congestion. Particularly being allowed to use bus lanes - why does a taxi (essentially a car) carrying potentially just one person have the right to the same priority as a bus that could be carrying 80?

Agree but I want to ask a question for people who use or see taxis more than me - how many actually use a bus lane rather than sit in traffic and let the meter keep on rolling?

[Late Again]

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