I'm yet to see an argument for banning Uber that doesn't already apply to black cab drivers. As in, the black cab drivers that are/were infamous for being cash-in-hand tax dodgers. Hell, it hasn't even been a year since Sadiq Khan dictated that all black cabs take credit cards. I wonder why they took so long to agree to that?
That mp3 link I posted goes into their checks (in the US at least) and basically it's:
Uber: Do you have a criminal record?
Driver: Nope
Uber: Are you sure?
Driver: Yep
Uber: Welcome aboard!
Associate
- Joined
- 9 Feb 2017
- Posts
- 241
Cheers for that link. Also interesting in the context of the BoE’s worries about consumer debt exposure this morning in particular to vehicle finance schemes, figures on the Uber “fleet” would be interesting to know.
unfortunately not too informative here - AFAIK background checks are actually carried out via TFL thus them getting pulled up on that bit is a bit confusing
Commissario
There was a point a few years back when in the UK (may not have been London though), Uber's checks to make sure the drivers were licensed basically amounted to "send us a photo of the proof of licence/insurance/mot" and not actually then checking any of it was valid (no contact with the issuer, just the scan/photo).
IIRC several journalists when checking on Uber's checks used completely fake insurance documents (from companies that didn't exist) and passed the Uber check.
Apparently one of the problems with Uber is that they effectively have no physical contact with "their" drivers and the people doing their checks at the time were not familiar with the documentation (and don't confirm it).
At the time they were basically less careful with documentation checks than my local car dealership when I needed a courtesy car, or the local car hire place.
Last edited:
They do overcharge customers by
- Taking a congested traffic route to increase journey price, where as PHV drivers have fixed price so they avoid traffic.
- After dropping their customers they don't mark the journey as completed, they go around few more extra mileage to increase the journey cost and then come back to same drop off point arguing customer wanted to make an extra stops. Most customers don't realise this unless they do this trip quite often. We hear these stuff from Uber drivers them self not from customers...
- By agreeing with other Uber drivers, they leave certain areas empty to push the demand up so it goes into surge charge pricing which then they enable their pdas to charge customers at surge charge rate.
Regarding Uber and PCO as i ve guessed they probably fail on PCO routine checks where PCO and police visits offices every 6 months to check on driver documents, completed journeys, how complains and lost n found are dealt with and everything else is done according to PCO rules.....
If PCO can check these in Uber systems then they will find out how certain drivers can work 24 hours, i ve reported 3 brothers to PCO which one of them has right documents to work as an Uber driver and the other 2 using his pda and his vehicle so basically that pda and vehicle works 24 hours around the clock..... There are many drivers like this either its their cousin or their brothers or they look like each other......
Last edited:
Associate
It's to do with Uber Ignition and a company called Onfido, who were fast tracking dbs applications, TFL accepted them, then refused, although Onfido were govt approved.
Onfido no longer do uber dbs.
Associate
- Joined
- 9 Feb 2017
- Posts
- 241
Interesting that Uber’s General Council announced resignation around the 13th September. With Zuckerberg floating ideas about selling stock and some ludicrous valuations for web 3.0 companies it could be sooner rather than later we see a repeat of 2000.
I've never experienced it myself as a regular uber user - if a driver doesn't complete the trip once he's dropped me off it is rather obvious from the app, again the route is fully visible so he can't just drive around and then come back to my flat as I'd know about it. Ditto to taking a different route - if they're not taking the suggested route from the app then you can flag that up immediately.
I'm not really buying this conspiracy to manipulate surge prices either, I don't doubt that some drivers are trying to do it however there are thousands of uber drivers, they don't all know each other, even if you knew a few dozen others or make contact with others online then that sort of collusion isn't going to work as you'd still only represent a tiny % - if you and your mates or online contacts all decide to not drive in some area of say Westminster or all log off the app at once then you'd simply get other uber drivers picking up passengers
Also none of these issues appear to be the reasons why TFL has issues with their license. The other stuff you've posted is genuinely interesting, though again we don't really have any quantitative data actually showing how bad uber is relative to other firms, just allegations etc..
So surely that aspect is no longer an issue then?
I understand you are going by your experiences in using the app yourself and me being in this industry for 14 years and knowing drivers. Not all customers check their journeys route or even check their receipts. Also drivers do talk and news spread around so anyone in minicab industry will know whats going on with other firms or companies such as Uber and also how do you explain surge charge rate going up ?. Drivers can see from their app how many drivers are in each sub postcode or sometimes areas defined to few streets and they deliberately don't go to areas where there are few drivers left to force that area to go into surge charge rate which they then rush to that area to pick up customers at an increased rate....
Regarding TFL having issues, if they cant get into Uber systems to check the data then they are pretty much in dark regarding whats going in inside the company. Go look for PCO requirements and tell me how can they do their compliance checks if they cant see Ubers data. Also if this is allowed then you can see other companies following this approach which puts PCO and TFL in a difficult position.
Soldato
- Joined
- 7 Jan 2009
- Posts
- 6,615
Exactly,Its a fact that black cabby drivers just do not like competition fair and square..thats why they have kicked up such a big fuss about it,Not any other the other reasons,But they seen an oppertunity to try and get rid of the competition and took it,Wise move,But Uber failed on their part which is a shame because id have loved uber to keep on giving these black cabbies come competition
I wouldn't be surprised if uber return to london again eventually,Once they follow all rules and guidelines.
Soldato
Rubbish , I’ve seen the WhatsApp group with my own eyes . Normally done between 10pm and 1am on a Fri and Sat night or believe it or not when it’s raining!
Don’t believe that these drivers are honest and trustworthy either , as a rule they are uneducated fools who will manipulate anything to earn more money . Obviously it’s not the majority but it’s a very large proportion. Fixed pricing from other Private hire companies is the 0nly way to be sure of what you will pay.
In addition to the above If the VAT loophole gets closed all Uber fares will be going up by 20% . Let’s see how many people use them then.
How is what I've said 'rubbish'? I don't doubt that such a whatsapp group could exist I'm skeptical of how effective it could actually be. Ditto to the ability of drivers to do what the other poster suggested re: not completing the journey and adding on extra miles - that just isn't very plausible and easy to catch if someone tried it.
Exactly,Its a fact that black cabby drivers just do not like competition fair and square..thats why they have kicked up such a big fuss about it,Not any other the other reasons,But they seen an oppertunity to try and get rid of the competition and took it,Wise move,But Uber failed on their part which is a shame because id have loved uber to keep on giving these black cabbies come competition
I wouldn't be surprised if uber return to london again eventually,Once they follow all rules and guidelines.
You almost got it right Nev, it's black cab drivers, not black cabby drivers, and au contraire, we don't mind competition "fair and square", but Uber was NOT fair and square competition.
They used Greyball software, to weed out any Government or Law Enforcement possible hirings, wonder why?
Their app system acts as an electronic "tout" for minicabs seeking immediate jobs.
This is an illegal form of "plying for hire', which under current U.K. legislation is exclusive to black cabs only.
If you, or anyone for that matter, feels that black cabs SHOULDN'T have the exclusive right to ply for hire, write your M.P., try to get the law changed.
Just ignoring the fact that your preferred method of transportation chooses to say, **** the law, it doesn't apply to us, might suit you, but it doesn't make it right.
Soldato
Not sure if already reported, but Uber are about to withdraw services from Quebec.
Has this been tested in court? I don't think it was one of the reasons used by TfL for withdrawing their licence.
Pot calling the kettle black. Widespread under-declaring of income to evade income tax is no different.
They'll still be way cheaper than the black cabs.