Posts by cjhann

Uber, Lyft and cutting corners: The true face of the Sharing Economy

What you say is true for Uber in London. In fact I belive Uber is being granted a licence as a london minicab company. Most of the adverse comments are about it's UberPop service which uses unlicensed drivers and does not operate in London. Since the The Reg is a uk site it's a bit poor that it does not mention this.

Uber offer a high quality service in London

Lots of these posts miss the point about Uber: The *service* the customer receives is often *better* than a taxi or traditional private hire. It's not just about price. In london it is cheaper than a black taxi but about the same as a traditional minicab (aka Private Hire vehicle). But the service is better:

1) Customer knows where the driver is - no need to ring firm to ask "Where is my taxi?" Or stand outside in the rain looking for him.

2) Always accept credit cards - no need to stop at ATM (or pay large card handling fees)

3) No need to worry about being over charged. The price is computed by Uber not the driver or a meter he owns. If the driver takes a circular route Uber will generally give a refund. No need to argue with driver about the price!

4) The itemised billing is great for claming expenses.

5) UBER IS SAFE IN LONDON

In london Uber only uses licensed private hire or taxi drivers (I know this is not the case elsewhere). Here it is basically just another cab firm. But one that tracks the position of the driver and makes it easy for the customer to share who the driver is with a friend.

6) Nearly always a driver is available. No need to ring muliple firms. The reason for the high availability is:

6.1) that most firms charge the driver between £100-200 per week for equipment and finding them work. Uber charges 20% with no upfront weekly fee. So the driver bares less of the risk and can have another job if he wishes.

6.2) Most firms require the driver to work fixed hours. Uber gives the driver freedom to work when he wants.

6.3) Uber does not require the driver to carry cash. So he is less likely to be robbed.

6.4) As in point (3) no need for the driver to argue with the customer about price or worry about customer running off without paying.

So most private hire drivers *like* Uber.

7) The Uber rating system makes it very easy to complain about a bad driver. It's less stressful than ringing up and complaining. When I only gave a driver 2 stars Uber read my comment and refunded my fare.