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Last time my (getting rather elderly) mother came to London I told her and her husband to get an Uber as it was easier than them standing in the rain trying to
by iamben 9y ago
Last time my (getting rather elderly) mother came to London I told her and her husband to get an Uber as it was easier than them standing in the rain trying to hail a cab.
They flatly refused. They'd been told by a black cab driver the night before there was a 'strong possibility' they would get raped or robbed by 'foreign' drivers.
- Nursie 9y agoWhy not suggest one of London's myriad of other options, which don't have so much in the way of unethical baggage?
- raverbashing 9y agoThe tube is fine for the most part but it can be a drag going from the eastern parts of London to LHR directly (or to Paddington or Victoria)
- dx034 9y agoAddison Lee is a good alternative. Drivers tend to be a bit more professional, prices are not that much higher and cars are generally nice.
- crtasm 9y agoTheir previously voiced views on cyclists should be taken into account though. http://road.cc/content/news/56999-addison-lee-chairman-airs-his-opinion-london-cyclist-deaths http://road.cc/content/news/56999-addison-lee-chairman-airs-... The Keen Group have always been reliable for us (but could hold similar views for all I know)
- vizzah 9y agoYou can downvote, but I hate cyclists in cities, because many of them break road rules. They think of themselves as neither pedestrians, nor vehicles. When they drive on pavements, they presume being pedestrian and expect to be treated equally (even though they operate a large mass of steel, often with high speeds, enough to cause serious injuries). When they are on the road, they like to be pedestrians and cross traffic lights, when cars have stopped. Don't know why cyclists constantly show such a selfish attitude. I am not singling out London, as I witnesses similar behavior in many European countries.
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoSo, the cyclists behave just like car drivers then ... /sorta-joking (FWIW I'm both and sometimes ride a motorbike or drive a van.)
- vayun 9y agoWhat is the problem with cyclists cross the road on a pedestrian crosswalk (with a reasonable speed of course)? In some European countries cyclists are actually forbidden to take direct left turn on the road and have to use pedestrian crosswalk for that.
- Nursie 9y agoThis is why cycle infrastructure, like one finds in Perth, WA is so good. In some places there is a separate cycle-road distinct from both pavement and road, in others there are cycle tracks running alongside train tracks, away from cars and pedestrians. It works really well, because someone bothered to plan.
- lmm 9y agoI've seen many cyclists go through red lights in cases where doing so is obviously safe. But for comparison I don't think I've met a single car driver who obeyed speed limits, indeed they seem affronted when I raise that question.
- walshemj 9y agoI have never seen in London a car driver run a red light but I regularly see cyclists blast through a red light at > 20mph and it is always the ones on fixies or racing bikes not actual bikes built for commuting. I have also seen bikes blast through pedestrian refuges during the rush hour
- caoilte 9y agoBlack cabs do it regularly on Oxford Street.
- simon_o 9y ago
- cjsuk 9y agoI'd not sure I'd call the AL drivers professional. A number of them are complete psychopaths around the Heathrow area.
- Nursie 9y agoThere are lots of private hire car firms, Addison Lee springs to mind immediately. And practically every street in the city has a minicab firm...
- arethuza 9y agoNot that I use Uber (not really necessary in Edinburgh and they don't operate where I live) - but one of the problems with there being so many taxi and minicab firms is how do you tell which ones are actually any good when traveling to a new location? I've had great experiences with taxis, but also appalling ones... At least Uber seemed to be trying to solve that problem - shame they decided to solve a real problem while being a shamelessly immoral company.
- Nursie 9y agoI agree to some extent. Having a single app you can open, regardless of what city or even country you're in, and knowing you'll get a good service at a good price, that's a great idea! The behaviour of Uber has been terrible, and it's a shame they don't operate much more like a passenger->service matching system with ratings, rather that operating their own fleet kinda-sorta-maybe (but they're all self-employed!)
- arethuza 9y agoIt would be kind of neat to have a standard platform for location based services.... Edit: Not just discovery, but transactions as well
- isostatic 9y agoMini cab drivers are often self employed, they pay a "radio fee" for the booking office, provide their own vehicle, licensing etc, have fares set centrally, and they keep their fares (and take cash to avoid paying tax). How is uber any different?
- Nursie 9y ago
- martinald 9y agoWill be resolved with crossrail next year, thankfully.
- cm2187 9y agoI'd rather be raped that do another ride in a black cab. These things have no suspension whatsoever, and are louder than a truck (which matters a lot if you are trying to sleep in a quiet street). Uber minicabs tend to drive a Toyota Prius which is way more comfortable and silent.
- KyeRussell 9y agoYou'd rather get raped? What a disgusting thoughtless comment.
- neverminder 9y agoHis comment is valid - black cabs are about as quiet and ergonomic as tractors.
- sctb 9y agoUnfortunately this doesn't meet the standards of civility for this site. Please make your point more thoughtfully. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html