And I suspect that is true for most uber drivers.
You are right black cabs didn't have anything to do with the suit, but they definitely feel its a win and that they feel vindicated that uber are breaking the law which they've been claiming all along. There is even a class action claiming lost earnings that is happening at the moment.
If you read comments with these articles you'll often get the impression that only they are allowed to be self employed. Everyone else is dodging tax and operating illegally. Yet 99% of uber payments have always been digital and trackable. How long did it take black cabs to accept non-cash payments and why?
I take it that by non-cash jobs you meant credit and debit card rides, not corporate and private account jobs, which accounted for around 40% of my jobs when I was working.
I couldn’t pin it down to an exact year, but I would guesstimate that circa 2000, give or take, the Data Terminal in my taxi was switched for one with a credit card swipe facility.
Why did I want this?
It upped my trip offers considerably, plus prospective fares would then bypass cash only taxis on a rank, and come to mine, which had a large CC sign at the top of the windshield.
The Data Terminal would still offer me cash jobs, where someone has phoned for a taxi, but in common with a lot of drivers, I’d reject a lot of cash offers.
Too much uncertainty there, often you’d arrive, and be told that the customer had just gone, as some people would phone a couple of Black Cab circuits, AND a couple of minicab outfits, and use whoever arrived first.
Of course, that’s the customer's prerogative, but if I accepted a cash job and it was a no show, I got nothing, but if I’d stayed on a rank, eventually I’d be guaranteed a job.
Never had that happen to me, on the whole the service is night and day above traditional taxi firm offerings.
Experience before uber.
"Hi want to book taxi please"
"sorry we all booked up"
or
"Hi I want to book taxi please"
"yeah sure 5pm booked"
at 5.15pm
"hi where is my taxi"
"its on the way mate just round the corner"
at 5.30pm
"hi where is my taxi"
"almost there mate"
at 5.40pm taxi turns up.
With uber, I have never been refused a taxi, always one available on demand, I can track how near they are when coming to me, and I dont even have the hassle of making a phone call or paying in cash. Its light years ahead, and caught out legacy taxi services. Kind of like how the UK retail industry failed to react to amazon and now has mass closures.
Also dont get me started on black cabs, they charge literally triple the normal rate on their meters inside the vehicle.
Maybe I’m misinterpreting what you mean, but it seems like you’re saying that if the meter reads £5.00, the driver will charge you £15.00, I guess that what you’re trying to say is that Uber will do a job for £8.00, but a Black Cab will charge £24.00 for the same job.
Whichever way you mean it, you’re wasted on here, you could make a living writing fairy stories.
Obviously you don’t like Black Cabs, and prefer Uber or minicabs, that’s your privilege, knock yourself out.
