4 ms·

Just a data point: this is not my experience, nor that of my many London Uber-using friends. We exclusively find it prompt, reliable, and drivers are courteous

Just a data point: this is not my experience, nor that of my many London Uber-using friends. We exclusively find it prompt, reliable, and drivers are courteous to the point that some offer to play the passenger's choice of music, give them lollies, etc. An Uber-XL will happily carry a bicycle or large amounts of luggage. And I've not once experienced an Uber driver refusing to take me anywhere. "South of the river? Not at this time of night guv". Pffff. Black cabs are now campaigning and many rally behind the slogan "the safest ride with the greatest guide" (from memory). This betrays how fundamentally they have failed to understand the trouble they're in. Safety: Uber purport to address this with registrations and reviews. (This may be fallible, but no more than black cab registration). "The greatest guide"?? Puh-lease. Nobody but nobody wants their cabby to be a guide, nor to offer their opinions on anything. Perhaps a tiny minority of tourists may feign interest for a few minutes. Perhaps. Unfortunately for black cab drivers, it seems that the current generation have sat cosily on the monopoly they inherited, and they've been caught napping. None of this is intended as an anti-black cab rant, I simply think they're failing to deal with the primary issue: the times they are a-changing. Edit: typo.

throwaway_xx9 11y ago
> Nobody but nobody wants their cabby to be a guide That's not just wrong, but unimaginative.
- collyw 11y ago
  There are Taxi tours of Belfast where they show you around the sites. The guy we got made a pretty good tour guide.
  - austinjp 11y ago
    Well, passengers who are booking a tour expect a tour. So... I don't think this compares to the average cab passenger in e.g. London. But I take your point, and I was over-zealous in my previous comment.
  - grkvlt 11y ago
    Interesting. Apparently, during the 'euphemisms' the public bus service was often disrupted by terrorism or bomb threats, so sharing rides in black taxis became common in Belfast as an alternative.
- austinjp 11y ago
  It seems I've underestimated the quality of taxi tours, and over-stated my position. Black-cab taxi tours of London are apparently very high quality [0] although I'm uncertain of how much in-demand they are. I was envisaging the passengers who book a cab to travel from A to B, not explicit tour bookings. I find it odd that cabbies are rallying behind the "safest ride with the greatest guide" slogan when Uber appear to do a reasonable job regarding background investigations [1], and the "greatest guide" is only required for a minority (I presume) of bookings. To me, it feels that black-cabs have had a monopoly on being able to pick up passengers and charge high fares. They're now being undercut by Uber, and they're fighting back by emphasising their current business model. Surely their business is suffering precisely because their operating model has failed to predict and adapt to change? [0] https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186338-d1888678-Reviews-London_Black_Taxi_Tours-London_England.html https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186338-d188... [1] See footnote in this article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11608878/I-said-Uber-was-better-than-Londons-black-cabs.-And-then-it-all-kicked-off....html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11608878/I-said-...
askyourmother 11y ago
The black cabs are under more stringent regulation than minicabs or uber - they are the safer ride. Not sure what's too hard to understand about that. As they say: once you've been surge priced (by uber), you never go back (to uber) None of this is intended as an anti-uber rant, I simply think they're failing to deal with the primary issue: regulations and real service are not just for breakfast.
- dasil003 11y ago
  Although I have to say the regulation is no guarantee. I actually had to catch a cab from Earl's Court to Kew Gardens because District Line had issues. I got in and told the driver, an elderly man, my destination of Victoria Gate, Kew Gardens. First red flag, he wasn't sure where that was. Second red flag, he pulls out a paper map book, like the kind I haven't seen for 10 years. Third red flag he doesn't even know which lane to exit the roundabout to go towards Kew. I proceeded to watch on my smartphone how he went completely the wrong way and added 20 minutes to the trip getting stuck in heavy traffic. I'm well familiar with The Knowledge, and I can tell you without a doubt, someone lent this old codger his black cab. Whatever idiot cabbie did that did far more damage to the cause of the traditional black cabs than anything Uber could ever do.
  - askyourmother 11y ago
    Whereas a friend borrowing his friends car and phone for uber would be an improvement?
    - yalooze 11y ago
      Google Maps and a profile photo you can see on your phone without having to squint at the little image in the front of the black cab, I'd say yes.
    - Karunamon 11y ago
      The difference being instant feedback. The low ratings one would garner by doing this with Uber would probably lead to the irresponsible driver getting booted, where with a traditional cab, the complaint process is significantly more involved.
austinjp 11y ago
One thing Uber drivers are terrible for: driving while watching the sat-nav instead of watching the road. I do wonder if this contributes to increased accidents, and if black-cabs are less prone to collisions.

throwaway_xx9 11y ago

> Nobody but nobody wants their cabby to be a guide That's not just wrong, but unimaginative.

collyw 11y ago
There are Taxi tours of Belfast where they show you around the sites. The guy we got made a pretty good tour guide.
- austinjp 11y ago
  Well, passengers who are booking a tour expect a tour. So... I don't think this compares to the average cab passenger in e.g. London. But I take your point, and I was over-zealous in my previous comment.
- grkvlt 11y ago
  Interesting. Apparently, during the 'euphemisms' the public bus service was often disrupted by terrorism or bomb threats, so sharing rides in black taxis became common in Belfast as an alternative.
austinjp 11y ago
It seems I've underestimated the quality of taxi tours, and over-stated my position. Black-cab taxi tours of London are apparently very high quality [0] although I'm uncertain of how much in-demand they are. I was envisaging the passengers who book a cab to travel from A to B, not explicit tour bookings. I find it odd that cabbies are rallying behind the "safest ride with the greatest guide" slogan when Uber appear to do a reasonable job regarding background investigations [1], and the "greatest guide" is only required for a minority (I presume) of bookings. To me, it feels that black-cabs have had a monopoly on being able to pick up passengers and charge high fares. They're now being undercut by Uber, and they're fighting back by emphasising their current business model. Surely their business is suffering precisely because their operating model has failed to predict and adapt to change? [0] https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186338-d1888678-Reviews-London_Black_Taxi_Tours-London_England.html https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186338-d188... [1] See footnote in this article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11608878/I-said-Uber-was-better-than-Londons-black-cabs.-And-then-it-all-kicked-off....html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11608878/I-said-...

askyourmother 11y ago

The black cabs are under more stringent regulation than minicabs or uber - they are the safer ride. Not sure what's too hard to understand about that. As they say: once you've been surge priced (by uber), you never go back (to uber) None of this is intended as an anti-uber rant, I simply think they're failing to deal with the primary issue: regulations and real service are not just for breakfast.

dasil003 11y ago
Although I have to say the regulation is no guarantee. I actually had to catch a cab from Earl's Court to Kew Gardens because District Line had issues. I got in and told the driver, an elderly man, my destination of Victoria Gate, Kew Gardens. First red flag, he wasn't sure where that was. Second red flag, he pulls out a paper map book, like the kind I haven't seen for 10 years. Third red flag he doesn't even know which lane to exit the roundabout to go towards Kew. I proceeded to watch on my smartphone how he went completely the wrong way and added 20 minutes to the trip getting stuck in heavy traffic. I'm well familiar with The Knowledge, and I can tell you without a doubt, someone lent this old codger his black cab. Whatever idiot cabbie did that did far more damage to the cause of the traditional black cabs than anything Uber could ever do.
- askyourmother 11y ago
  Whereas a friend borrowing his friends car and phone for uber would be an improvement?
  - yalooze 11y ago
    Google Maps and a profile photo you can see on your phone without having to squint at the little image in the front of the black cab, I'd say yes.
  - Karunamon 11y ago
    The difference being instant feedback. The low ratings one would garner by doing this with Uber would probably lead to the irresponsible driver getting booted, where with a traditional cab, the complaint process is significantly more involved.

austinjp 11y ago

One thing Uber drivers are terrible for: driving while watching the sat-nav instead of watching the road. I do wonder if this contributes to increased accidents, and if black-cabs are less prone to collisions.