Uber to lose licence to operate in London

Em3bbs · 13 Dec 2017 at 23:33

LeeUK said:
Through the Uber App. Wasn't aware they could do that or that a feature existed until a message popped up. It's obviously open to abuse for worser things than what happened with me.

Say some dodgy driver could organise a fare cash in hand without putting it through the App etc.

I don't think that's possible. I've had drivers call me to see where I am for a pick up, and it's always from the same area code and obviously a monitored Uber number. What did the pop up look like, was there a facility to reply? I've never heard of anyone getting a private (or any) message via the Uber app, and I can't find anything online to suggest it could happen.

LeeUK · 13 Dec 2017 at 23:46

Em3bbs said:
I don't think that's possible. I've had drivers call me to see where I am for a pick up, and it's always from the same area code and obviously a monitored Uber number. What did the pop up look like, was there a facility to reply? I've never heard of anyone getting a private (or any) message via the Uber app, and I can't find anything online to suggest it could happen.

The message popped up within the Uber app and yes I was able to reply with my destination as asked by the driver in the message. He then cancelled my "pick up" without further conversation.

Fare or Pick Up - you know what I mean.

The cancelled pick up is still listed in my Uber App with drivers name, address and photo. Along with a 4.8/5.0 rating and says he's been driving for 2 years.

muon · 14 Dec 2017 at 22:53

MikeTheNative said:
I'll be using Uber to get home from Bristol Saturday. A normal taxi is £80 but an Uber costs £40!

How dare you. I will be forcing you to pay £80 to a higher profits taxi becuase it is safe for you. Don't care if you are an adult who can take care of yourself and that a bad minicab driver is less likely than being in a car accident (or more accurately being struck by lightnining).

LeeUK · 14 Dec 2017 at 23:09

Had email reply back from Uber and all they did was make excuses for the driver about "unavoidable reasons" and "difficulties getting to my pickup location" and "traffic" etc. Like I don't know my town which I've lived in all my life.

Xire · 15 Dec 2017 at 11:49

LeeUK said:
I tried to use Uber for the first time yesterday evening as I had some free credits on my account from when I got the App a while ago.

I'm not that impressed as the driver accepted my fare, then sent me a private message asking where I want to go (which I thought was weird) as I had already put my destination down on the fare. After I replied saying where I wanted to go he then cancelled my fare altogether. The fare was for less than £4 so by the looks of it some Uber drivers only want big fares. He was the only local Uber driver at the time so couldn't just wait for another driver to pick my fare up.

Ended up phoning a local taxi firm who sent a friendly driver almost instantly and it only cost me £3 which would have been less than Uber had I not been using free credit.

Uber can **** right off.

Try using that same firm to go to a destination that isnt walking distance then compare the uber price. Uber has a minimum charge(in London its £5)

Stretch · 15 Dec 2017 at 11:54

Em3bbs said:
I don't think that's possible. I've had drivers call me to see where I am for a pick up, and it's always from the same area code and obviously a monitored Uber number. What did the pop up look like, was there a facility to reply? I've never heard of anyone getting a private (or any) message via the Uber app, and I can't find anything online to suggest it could happen.

you can either message or call the driver through the app.

https://help.uber.com/h/0e0bbf4e-2a95-42b6-9bc2-2566e8bd98dc

LeeUK · 15 Dec 2017 at 12:29

Xire said:
Try using that same firm to go to a destination that isnt walking distance then compare the uber price. Uber has a minimum charge(in London its £5)

I hardly use taxis to start with. If it's walking distance I walk, any further I drive or get a bus or lift depending on the reason of the journey. I only got the taxi the other night because of the ice being too slippery and I was going to have a few pints out so couldn't drive myself.

dowie · 26 Jun 2018 at 19:41

bump

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...eal-overturn-tfl-revoke-licence-a8418106.html

Uber has won its appeal of TfL’s decision to revoke its London operating licence last year.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court found that the company is “fit and proper” to hold the licence, and granted the firm’s appeal after it agreed to an audit.

Uber requested, and was granted, a probationary 15-month licence as opposed to the five year licence it previously sought. It has also agreed to pay TfL’s costs of £425,500.

Thank **** for that!

Werewolf · 26 Jun 2018 at 19:43

I was reading about the hearing last night and couldn't believe that anyone thought getting a ******* remote doctor service to do eye tests over the internet was a good idea.

VincentHanna · 26 Jun 2018 at 19:44

Sounds like TFL had genuine concerns and that Uber now have 15 months to prove themselves.

D.P. · 26 Jun 2018 at 19:47

Will the drivers get paid properly

chroniclard · 26 Jun 2018 at 19:49

Good news, concerns aside they are a godsend.

Lord-Jaffa · 26 Jun 2018 at 19:51

Great result. black cabs can do one.

dowie · 26 Jun 2018 at 20:09

D.P. said:
Will the drivers get paid properly

they are paid, no one is forcing them to accept jobs from uber - they could try other apps too - it is their business after all

plasmahal · 26 Jun 2018 at 20:16

Uber is such a scam.... They take people for ride.....

Jean-F · 27 Jun 2018 at 00:12

Lord-Jaffa said:
Great result. black cabs can do one.

There are none so blind as those that will not see, but having said that, use whatever Uber slave that you want.
Take as much advantage of the ill educated peons as you can.

D.P. said:
Will the drivers get paid properly

Do you care? I don’t, I hope that they’re doing a 12 hour day, for about £55 -£60, after exes.
Let’s be honest, you only want them because they work for peanuts.

chroniclard said:
Good news, concerns aside they are a godsend.

Really? According to a Freedom of Information reply, the Met Police reckon that between February 2015 and February 2016, Uber drivers were accused of sexually assaulting passengers, once every 11 days in London.
Wonder if any of those men/women see them as a Godsend?

BongoHunter · 27 Jun 2018 at 00:23

Very pleased they've got an extension - use them regularly for journeys after closing time at my favorite pub to get back into to London and it's normally under £30, pre Uber it used to cost me £60+

dowie · 27 Jun 2018 at 01:25

Jean-F said:
Really? According to a Freedom of Information reply, the Met Police reckon that between February 2015 and February 2016, Uber drivers were accused of sexually assaulting passengers, once every 11 days in London.
Wonder if any of those men/women see them as a Godsend?

I can't say I've ever considered any of them to be a potential threat to me, they've mostly been friendly, pleasant to talk to and they're generally not physically intimidating - most of them appear to have been born overseas in poor countries and are likely a bit shorter and skinnier than the average British male.

I guess if I were a drunk female then there might be reason for concern - though they're safer than an unlicensed minicab that a drunk female might otherwise stumble into outside a club/bar and really the risk is low.

I guess perhaps drunk females should stick to black cabs - perhaps it can be another example of sexism/where women pay more for goods/services etc... I do have a lot of respect for the amount of effort that black cab drivers have put into getting their licence and I do use black cabs for short journeys in and around central London still but for a longer journey I'll use uber.

muon · 27 Jun 2018 at 02:21

Jean-F said:
Really? According to a Freedom of Information reply, the Met Police reckon that between February 2015 and February 2016, Uber drivers were accused of sexually assaulting passengers, once every 11 days in London.
Wonder if any of those men/women see them as a Godsend?

Once every 11 days? Interesting way to phrase it (an angle there perhaps). That equates to 33 per year and thats supposedly with poor standards of checking by uber. This pales in comparison to sexual assaults on buses for example. (https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/bus-crime-statistics)

There are around 45,000 Uber drivers in London. If they do lets say a conservative 20 fares per week, that is 900,000 journeys per year.

I'll let you work out the real risk rate.

Next you'll be telling us not to use planes because on average a small number of people die flying every year.

edit:
that should be 900k journeys per week!

Tefal · 27 Jun 2018 at 02:26

dowie said:
I guess perhaps drunk females should stick to black cabs - perhaps it can be another example of sexism/where women pay more for goods/services etc... I do have a lot of respect for the amount of effort that black cab drivers have put into getting their licence and I do use black cabs for short journeys in and around central London still but for a longer journey I'll use uber.

I dunno Didn't that worboys fella get out recently