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    London Reconnections does one of its deep dives on the Uber licence decision.

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      Originally posted by Ginger Yellow View Post
      London Reconnections does one of its deep dives on the Uber licence decision.
      I've read that as well GY. Uber are a nasty company who have got to realize they are a taxi company and not a technology company.

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        Thanks for sharing that, GY - a really good article.

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          I've read that as well GY. Uber are a nasty company who have got to realize they are a taxi company and not a technology company.
          Agreed, but they desperately don't want to be a taxi company. At best, they want to be an auto lease company. The problem is, their ridiculous stock valuation relies on a) them not being one, and b) them having an effective monopoly at not being one. Between regulatory/court action and eventually running out of shareholder cash, I think they'll eventually transition into acknowledging they are a taxi company, but they'll have to be dragged kicking and screaming the whole way.

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            London Reconnections is ace. I never understand everything in a post, but I still learn tons. Is there a nationwide rail blog as good and in depth?

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              Well I'm a a bit annoyed about this myself. I fact I'm rather exasperated by it all, it’s a catastrophe for me. I find the company super efficient. It is cost effective and, importantly, you don’t have to worry about having cash. I work quite long hours at my studio in Clerkenwell and use Uber quite a lot to get back to my flat in Dalston because I usually have to carry loads of stuff. I mean try getting a Black Cab to take you to Dalston and if I'm going the other way in the morning try getting an actual Black Cab in Dalston!! Okay you could order a regular mini cab but they don't seem to like coming to the estate where I live - they never turn up, Uber is just so convenient. Also my GF lives with her parents in Golders Green and if she wants to come over to my place it'd cost her £30-40 in a Black Cab instead of about £15 in an Uber. And she's always complaining about these Black Cab drivers and their constant racist/sexist/homophobic innuendo.

              I feel like it is an overly excessive response to take Uber’s licence away. The company should perhaps have responded better to certain problems, but maybe they should have gone into arbitration and got a penalty. Shutting them down seems extreme. Now my life is completely inconvenienced as I will not get black cabs.

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                Originally posted by Bernie Hipster View Post
                I feel like it is an overly excessive response to take Uber’s licence away. The company should perhaps have responded better to certain problems, but maybe they should have gone into arbitration and got a penalty. Shutting them down seems extreme. Now my life is completely inconvenienced as I will not get black cabs.
                Do we know exactly what the process was before they had their licence suspended? They received the letter from the Met back in April setting out some major problems - did they respond or ignore it? I can't really imagine that TFL simply said one day "OK we're banning you", more likely that they told them to sort out their illegal/dodgy/troubling practices and when uber didn't, hoping to call their bluff, they got suspended. I can understand your frstartion and the inconvenience, but that fact cannot be a pretext for uber being able to get away with breaking the law.

                For what it's worth I thought the response of the new CEO set the right tone and was really well constructed. If they act on his words and message, they'll keep their licence I'm sure. That old CEO though? Fucking hell. Who could have imagined that having someone called Travis in charge of a massive multinational taxi company could have gone so badly?

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                  They haven't had four months to fix the problems, they've have five years and four months.

                  They fact that Uber is being suspended isn't inconveniencing you, the fact that you won't take a Black Cab (or use the Tube or other public transport) means you are inconveniencing yourself.

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                    The fact that black cabs cost (even more of) a fortune and it's much easier to not stand on the street waiting for 15 minutes hoping to flag one down definitely makes Uber much more convenient if you don't happen to be travelling in daytime somewhere within zone one where there are tons of black cabs. And if you've ever travelled carrying loads of stuff on the tube, you know that it is spectacularly inconvenient. Uber might need to sort themselves out, but the argument that the alternatives are just as good doesn't hold up.

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                      But what's not convenient about ringing a PHV before you want one?

                      Uber are no more and no less likely to be available within a given timeslot than a taxicab?

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                        Dalston isn't exactly the middle of nowhere. I didn't have problems getting a cab, black or mini, when I was in Hackney.

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                          Is "Bernard Hipster" a piss-take?

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                            Originally posted by ad hoc View Post
                            Who could have imagined that having someone called Travis in charge of a massive multinational taxi company could have gone so badly?
                            It's a Travisty.

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                              Originally posted by E10 Rifle View Post
                              Is "Bernard Hipster" a piss-take?
                              A perusal of his other two posts so far would suggest the answer to this question is yes.

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                                He’s no roryfsmith. But who is?

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                                  Originally posted by Bernie Hipster View Post
                                  Well I'm a a bit annoyed about this myself. I fact I'm rather exasperated by it all, it’s a catastrophe for me. I find the company super efficient. It is cost effective and, importantly, you don’t have to worry about having cash. I work quite long hours at my studio in Clerkenwell and use Uber quite a lot to get back to my flat in Dalston because I usually have to carry loads of stuff. I mean try getting a Black Cab to take you to Dalston and if I'm going the other way in the morning try getting an actual Black Cab in Dalston!! Okay you could order a regular mini cab but they don't seem to like coming to the estate where I live - they never turn up, Uber is just so convenient. Also my GF lives with her parents in Golders Green and if she wants to come over to my place it'd cost her £30-40 in a Black Cab instead of about £15 in an Uber. And she's always complaining about these Black Cab drivers and their constant racist/sexist/homophobic innuendo.

                                  I feel like it is an overly excessive response to take Uber’s licence away. The company should perhaps have responded better to certain problems, but maybe they should have gone into arbitration and got a penalty. Shutting them down seems extreme. Now my life is completely inconvenienced as I will not get black cabs.
                                  Get a 38 bus

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                                    Travis must feel a right tit.

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                                      What's the difference between a black cab and a minicab?

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                                        A black cab is yer London taxi, which you flag on the street and is driven by someone who's taken The Knowledge, whereas a minicab is a private car which you phone up an office to book.

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                                          Get the bus? What with all the stuff that I have to carry around??

                                          My messenger bag, my laptop, my i pad, my kindle, my Nintendo, my beatz headphones, my 3 in 1 lunchbox, all my work stuff - my large scale A3 tracing paper, my sketching pens, my rulers etc etc.....some of us have to work from home, we can't hang around the studio all night!

                                          Yeah I'd love to get the bus & I'd probably get mugged!!

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                                            Good. Then you might not be able to post.

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                                              Welcome to the board Bernie!

                                              All you need to do now is to take over the mantle of Luke R and you'll have it made.

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                                                Why would you take an iPad, laptop, Kindle and Nintendo along with your actual work stuff? Prioritise, man!

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                                                  I think yer being trolled folks.

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                                                    First world problems this isn't it? Indeed, a very London centric problem, not being able to travel at the moment you want at the cheapest possible fare. Just a word of warning though, all Black Cabs have £5m of public liability insurance, Uber have none. As John Ruskin said:

                                                    “There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey.”

                                                    You takes your life in your hands when you use Uber...

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