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Uber loses London licence


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Transport for London has just announced it will not renew Uber's licence to operate in London. Their permission expires at the end of this month (September 2017). They have found Uber 'not fit and proper'.

 

Uber will no doubt appeal and go to the courts, so there is a degree of uncertainty whether or not they will have to cease operating on that date.

 

But if you are coming to London and were relying on Uber, you may wish to have alternatives in mind.

 

ETA: Apparently they are allowed to operate while their appeal is heard, which I doubt will be a particularly swift process.

 

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I just saw this too. For once I agree with TfL. They have possibly caused their own demise as there are a lot of the drivers who have poor English and a very dubious knowledge of London. I think a large part of it was because there have been attacks and abuse against women.

 

There are far too many of these cabs on the roads of London unnecessarily contributing to our already, very busy roads.

 

You will still be able to call a mini cab.

 

 

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This is fantastic news. We spent seven weeks in London this spring and summer and traffic was such that you could not get around except by walking,,buses and underground. 40,000 Uber cars removed from the streets of London will really help the city to move again.

 

 

 

That is true, but we also found Uber to be reliable and a fraction of the cost of the Black Cabs. We used both. Of course nothing can compare to the Black Cab drivers knowledge, some of the fares were excessive due to the fact that the traffic was horrendous and the meter was running.

 

 

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Bob

 

The fares for black cabs are set by TfL. They can't charge lower prices.

 

 

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I did know that; as they are set by councils for taxis in most towns and cities. Of course, TFL is influenced by strong submissions from the TOA each year. Maybe a few years with no rises would help?

 

I really don't think that 40,000 Uber cars are all on the streets at any one time; although it does seem like it sometimes.

 

 

I used to drive a minicab in London - remember them? I was licenced and insured but many weren't. Uber have got to do a lot more checking on drivers and cars if they want to keep the licence.

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I think it very difficult to find more professional drivers anywhere in the world than London black cabs. Taxi drivers in NYC, or anywhere else for that matter, nowhere near as knowledgeable.

+1, they are very professional and knowledgeable.

 

 

Where I live the government actually is living up to a pre-election promise (yes, the earth shuddered a little) and will be allowing Uber. I think it is a big mistake. I have no stake in the taxi business but do not like Uber's business model or actions and would prefer we do not invite them into our market.

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The fares for black cabs are set by TfL. They can't charge lower prices.

 

From reading TFL's fares regulations, I see those regulations set out how the "maximum" fare is to be calculated, but they make no mention of any prohibition on charging less than the maximum.

 

So black cabs could offer discounts at quiet times if they wanted to.

 

TFL's regulations also require black cabs to take payment by card, but unsurprisingly most of the machines seem to be broken (until you say you have no cash and they magically repair themselves).

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From

TFL's regulations also require black cabs to take payment by card, but unsurprisingly most of the machines seem to be broken (until you say you have no cash and they magically repair themselves).

 

During our visits we have never had a Black Cab in which we could not pay by card since they were installed.

Of course there could be a broken one but that was not our experience.

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Its current licence expires on 30 September. It has 21 days to appeal the decision from Friday, during which time it can continue to operate.

 

 

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And can continue to operate until the legal process has ended, even if that takes longer than the 21 days; and it will, probably years.

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Find it amazing how many people suddenly can't function in life without Uber. Its only been going for a few years, what did they do beforehand???

 

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I confess to being more than a little suspicious about these vast numbers of people supporting Uber. The appeal of the app based system is obviously convenience. Before Uber, you could either stand on the kerb and flag down a passing cab, or phone a private hire company who would invariable tell you "be there in ten minutes guv" and actually turn up sometime in the next hour, if at all.

 

Pre-booked private hire is a lot more reliable; partly because the scheduler has more time to plan the journey in, and partly because they rely on that business and do not want to see bad reviews.

 

It takes a long time to qualify as a black cab driver; hundreds of hours driving a moped around London's streets "doing the knowledge". The problem is that, as satnavs have become more and more sophisticated, with live traffic updates etc, all that hard work is becoming less relevant.

 

Maybe TFL need to look for a better solution.

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It doesn't surprise me at all.

 

If Uber have 40,000 drivers in London (and TFL would know as it is TFL that actually licence them) that is an awful lot of customers to fill those cars even if some of the drivers are part time.

 

As to why they have been successful...

 

Black cabs are terrible. Overpriced, wouldn't take anything other than cash, wouldn't go to certain areas, wouldn't pick up certain types of customer.

 

Minicabs. You book it and it doesn't turn up and when you call they are always five minutes away. And when they did turn up the cars were horrible.

 

And don't forget that Uber built this from nothing in a city that has one of the best public transport systems in the world.

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I haven't used Uber in London but I have in the USA and maybe I've been lucky but Uber drivers have been far better and much cheaper than registered taxi drivers, particular in New York and Florida.

 

 

Ditto. Uses Uber here in the USA but was satisfied with the taxi, price-wise in getting around, and limo service from port to airport. Won't miss Uber in London.

 

 

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Just spent two weeks in London and used uber everywhere and they were great and affordable. In fact uber was cheaper than the tube most of the time. I also ordered from uber eats twice. Yes, black cabs are more professional but they are insanely expensive.

 

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Your kidding, cheaper than 2 £ 40 ? (yes that's the price for a ride with the tube, if you got an Oyster Card)

In my country Switzerland, that's the price you pay, just to get into a taxi....

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