Uber Taxi

https://www.uber.com/

Seen a few of their cars floating about Leeds the last few weeks and decided to give them a try over the Christmas period.

I'm impressed. Quick, reliable and cheaper than your average taxi. I think they've been around in London for a while now and are rolling out in Liverpool sometime soon.

You can get a free £10 credit on your account if someone refers you which is cool too. Anyone else used them?

Been using them for about a year. Surprised people are just noticing them for the first time, they were all over the news in 2014 with various countries banning the service and the London Taxi protests etc.

Fuggan said:

https://www.uber.com/

Seen a few of their cars floating about Leeds the last few weeks and decided to give them a try over the Christmas period.

I'm impressed. Quick, reliable and cheaper than your average taxi. I think they've been around in London for a while now and are rolling out in Liverpool sometime soon.

You can get a free £10 credit on your account if someone refers you which is cool too. Anyone else used them?

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Are you an employee?

Used them a few times in central London and even in Croydon last month after my work Xmas do, I was the first drop and shared with 2 mates so from South Croydon to Morden then Sutton and then Kingston and it was only £15 at 2am too. If that was a black cab it'd be about £40 and a booked private cab would have probably charged £25. Handy because you just open app and it finds a cabbie quick.

Osprey said:

Been using them for about a year. Surprised people are just noticing them for the first time, they were all over the news in 2014 with various countries banning the service and the London Taxi protests etc.

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Mainly cos they have only really been in London and more recently Manchester.

have taken off over the last 6 months. Use them all the time, fantastic service, especially if you have spotify, you can link your music to the Taxi's speaker

Osprey said:

Been using them for about a year. Surprised people are just noticing them for the first time, they were all over the news in 2014 with various countries banning the service and the London Taxi protests etc.

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Indeed, given their major issues in other countries relating to legal matters, the various licensing for taxis PGV or equivalent, the insurances that drivers should hold if they are using their cars for commercial purposes, I am surprised there hasn't been more of an investigation and clarification here.

Never used them, although I have friends who are addicted (loads of short trips of a few quid out of laziness/convenience)

thing is it isn't really anything new for London - we've already had Addison Lee and Hailo for a while now... Uber is just another variation of the same thing - smartphone app to get a private hire taxi when you want.

Only real clarification needed is the meter issue - though TFL have taken the position that a 'meter' has to be connected to the cab - not sure I necessarily agree with this and perhaps as a private hire firm they ought to be fixing the fairs in advance as per their competition.... then again I'm glad they're shaking up some of the less advanced taxi markets in other places, especially overseas... London is already the best place in the world for taxis.

Use them a lot, brilliant as you don't need to go looking for a cab and they are well priced. Costs me half to get home versus a black cab from central London.

chanjy said:

Never used them, although I have friends who are addicted (loads of short trips of a few quid out of laziness/convenience)

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Your friends are not unusual. I work in the taxi business and journeys that are no more than a 3-5 minute walk happen constantly, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.

Amazes me people are even willing to wait an hour at peak times to get to the next pub/bar.

When I was in my teens we use to walk for miles on a night out. Today transport from one end of the town to the other is deemed essential.

I guess it's easy not to notice paying for those sorts of journey because it just comes off your credit card, like everything else

I got a referral and used it for the first time after my works Christmas party. Great service, although I was extremely lucky to get a cab at 2am on the Friday before Christmas, he was the only one near us in Marylebone that I could see!

As far as the legality/trustworthiness of the drivers, am I right in thinking drivers have to get the private hire license, the same as Addison Lee drivers, and anyone else in London?

I think the whole thing is genius to be honest, fantastic use of technology -- it almost seems a shame to have other countries kicking up such a fuss.

The company seems a bit dodgy, but the service is excellent and the prices are fair. I'm therefore maybe not a 'big fan' but certainly a very satisfied customer.

The majority of the drivers are classed as a lift-share IIRC - the idea being there's nothing wrong with getting a mate to give you a lift and chipping in a bit of cash. I don't see it as any different to an illegal minicab, but for some reason it's largely ignored by authorities.

The company itself seems to be run by some downright nasty people as well, so I'm not queuing up to give them money.

Quite liking using Uber in London. There's even a "split the fare" feature if you and your mates are sharing a taxi.

By way of comparison, I once got an Uber cab from the City to my house for £24 at about 2am. The comparable journey in a black cab would have cost me c.£60 or from a minicab firm about £40. Well worth it.

Your running costs do tend to go down when you don't have any of your own vehicles to maintain or insure, or pesky licenses to pay for.

I think uber is fantastic. It's a much needed boost for the consumer in London because they are offering a service black cabs do not.

I use cabs a lot, I used to jump in 3/4 a day a couple of years ago between meetings but I use them slightly less these days. Generally speaking the service cab drivers offer is poor. If my company books me a taxi its fine as it comes off the company account. Hailing one off the street means I can only pay cash. 99% of cabs have the ability to offer card payments but few do due to the cost and the preference of dealing in cash. My friend asked to pay with a card and he was told he couldn't as the driver wouldn't be able to listen to his stereo if he plugged in the card machine. He had to go out of his way to a cash point and was charged for the privilege.

With uber I can request a taxi ahead of time, they are generally a more comfortable and pleasant experience and it comes straight from my paypal account.

Yes the drivers can barely speak a word of English but at least I am not subjected to a black cab drivers racist opinions or outlook when I'm not interested in hearing it.

Xire said:

have taken off over the last 6 months. Use them all the time, fantastic service, especially if you have spotify, you can link your music to the Taxi's speaker

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Sure the driver loves that.

Caged said:

Your running costs do tend to go down when you don't have any of your own vehicles to maintain or insure, or pesky licenses to pay for.

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those costs could well be higher overall when being taken on by individual drivers as they don't have the economies of scale large taxi firms have

the fact that uber hasn't had to have cars of its own has allowed for rapid expansion, but that rapid expansion has been able to take place because the old guard are inefficient

they've still got to generate sufficient revenue for profit for themselves and income for their drivers after the running costs

I just struggle to get that excited about a company growing based on ignoring laws of the countries they operate in. Their game plan seems to be "get massive, build a legal pot large enough to scare municipal governments".

You can argue whether black cabs are outdated or taxi licensing is better suited to a different era all you like, but it doesn't change the legality of the current situation. If I'm getting into a vehicle it's nice to know that the driver hasn't been up 20 hours and is insured appropriately.

Uber mast day.