4 ms·

However, Uber should be more aware of what they're 'disrupting'. Strong unions see this as a foreign company threatening their livelihoods and there will be pus

by rmc 13y ago

However, Uber should be more aware of what they're 'disrupting'. Strong unions see this as a foreign company threatening their livelihoods and there will be push back. Yeah, this isn't USA. There are actual employment rights and strong trade unions here.

onli 13y ago
But also criticism of taxis. Have a look at http://transports.blog.lemonde.fr/2014/01/12/pourquoi-je-nai-plus-envie-de-prendre-le-taxi/ http://transports.blog.lemonde.fr/2014/01/12/pourquoi-je-nai... for an example.
david927 13y ago
I'm also in France and I am very happy that workers actually have rights here (as opposed to my native land, the USA). But you always must keep diligence, because unions can devolve into a mafia. The taxis here in France are an example of that. I have never had a single ride that was the correct price, and after many attempts I gave up. I'm certainly not alone. People have been trying to disrupt and get around them for ages but they fight as mafia do: fiercely.
- faster 13y ago
  I'm also an American living in France, and I have never even been able to get a taxi in Paris, on the street, at marked taxi stands, or asking directly in a bar where the taxi drivers hang out while they are 'working'. Fortunately I don't live in Paris. It seems that taxi companies are more mafia than union in the US also, but at least they will pick you up. This is because the government won't give them money if they don't work. I appreciate that France has a strong social safety net, but this is one of the downsides of that; it's easy to abuse.
  - Jacqued 13y ago
    This seems quite disingenuous to say the least. I'm a French living in Paris, and have never had any trouble getting a cab, unless I happened to be in one of those neighborhoods that are completely deserted at night. In that case you'd have to call one up. Maybe the cabs you were trying to get already had customers on board. Hint : if a taxi is free, the light on top of it is green. If it's red, there's already a customer on board.
    - rmc 13y ago
      Heh, I wonder if it's because it's an American looking for a taxi in France, as opposed to a French person looking for a taxi. When travelling around Europe, I put big Irish stickers on my motorbike. You can get Scottish flag stickers for your car that say "Scotland" in French[1], so the French drivers don't think you're English. [1] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scotland-Ecosse-Sticker-Number-Saltire/dp/B0055BNOMA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1389619165&sr=8-4&keywords=car+sticker+scotland+ecosse http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scotland-Ecosse-Sticker-Number-Salti...
      - faster 13y ago
        I never experienced the kind of hate that some Americans attribute to French people. As far as the French hating the English, have you ever listed to any Roald Dahl childrens' stories? They pretty much ensure that good English kids are raised to hate the French. I used to know an English family who played Roald Dahl CDs for their kids whenever they were in the car. It was frightening. So a little reflection of that isn't too surprising.
    - faster 13y ago
      The last time I tried I was with my wife and daughter, trying to get to the airport with luggage. I think the luggage scared them off. You know that the idea for Uber came from the founder's experience trying to get a taxi in Paris, right? That suggests I'm not alone in my experience with Parisian taxis. http://blog.uber.com/2010/12/22/ubers-founding/ http://blog.uber.com/2010/12/22/ubers-founding/
      - rmc 13y ago
        > You know that the idea for Uber came from the founder's experience trying to get a taxi in Paris, right? Actually that link says the complete opposite. It says that while in Paris, the founder were talking about their (bad) experience of getting a taxi in San Francisco. > Garrett Camp and I were hanging out in Paris for a week at Loic and Geraldine LeMeur’s LeWeb conference. Amongst the amazing food, the copious amounts of wine and inevitable nightlife crawls there were all kinds of discussions about what’s next. Garrett had sold StumbleUpon to Ebay and had been doing “hard time” at a big company. I had just completed my tour with Akamai after selling Red Swoosh to them in 2007. > > Jamming on ideas, rapping on what’s next is what entrepreneurs do. Garrett and I would get some good music, good drinks and jam until 5am. Garrett’s big idea was cracking the horrible taxi problem in San Francisco — getting stranded on the streets of San Francisco is familiar territory for any San Franciscan.
  - david927 13y ago
    Where do you live in France? (I live near Nice.) Please send me an email, it's in my profile.
- brohee 13y ago
  How the hell can you end up paying the wrong price. There is a leaflet in the taxi itself explaining pricing, and there is a taximeter. And no expectation of tipping. Also prominently displayed is the number to call if something is wrong. For all its faults, it's a heavily regulated activity...
  - david927 13y ago
    Seriously? I've lived in Prague for years and sometimes struggled with the taxis there (you have to use the right company, watch out for turbo which spins up the meter, etc.). I'm sorry but it's nothing compared to France. I don't know of a single local here who uses a taxi. I'm sure I could call the number to report each ride, but I'd just rather avoid it.
    - brohee 13y ago
      There are 17000 taxis in Paris, so I doubt that I'm their only customer. And I'll answer to your anecdotal evidence that 100% of the people I know take a taxi somewhat regularly...
    - rmc 13y ago
      Taxis in new accession states (i.e. 'out east') are IME more corrupt than taxis in countries in the west.
jsnk 13y ago
Strong trade unions are dandy and employment rights are okay too. Threats, violence and vandalism of someone else's property are not okay.
rtpg 13y ago
it's slightly ironic that the unions in France are strong despite low participation rates , and in the US there's much more participation. One could argue that , because of collective bargaining, there might not be that many advantages to joining a union in France (the biggest union ends up representing you anyways).

by rmc 13y ago

onli 13y ago

But also criticism of taxis. Have a look at http://transports.blog.lemonde.fr/2014/01/12/pourquoi-je-nai-plus-envie-de-prendre-le-taxi/ http://transports.blog.lemonde.fr/2014/01/12/pourquoi-je-nai... for an example.

david927 13y ago

I'm also in France and I am very happy that workers actually have rights here (as opposed to my native land, the USA). But you always must keep diligence, because unions can devolve into a mafia. The taxis here in France are an example of that. I have never had a single ride that was the correct price, and after many attempts I gave up. I'm certainly not alone. People have been trying to disrupt and get around them for ages but they fight as mafia do: fiercely.

faster 13y ago
I'm also an American living in France, and I have never even been able to get a taxi in Paris, on the street, at marked taxi stands, or asking directly in a bar where the taxi drivers hang out while they are 'working'. Fortunately I don't live in Paris. It seems that taxi companies are more mafia than union in the US also, but at least they will pick you up. This is because the government won't give them money if they don't work. I appreciate that France has a strong social safety net, but this is one of the downsides of that; it's easy to abuse.
- Jacqued 13y ago
  This seems quite disingenuous to say the least. I'm a French living in Paris, and have never had any trouble getting a cab, unless I happened to be in one of those neighborhoods that are completely deserted at night. In that case you'd have to call one up. Maybe the cabs you were trying to get already had customers on board. Hint : if a taxi is free, the light on top of it is green. If it's red, there's already a customer on board.
  - rmc 13y ago
    Heh, I wonder if it's because it's an American looking for a taxi in France, as opposed to a French person looking for a taxi. When travelling around Europe, I put big Irish stickers on my motorbike. You can get Scottish flag stickers for your car that say "Scotland" in French[1], so the French drivers don't think you're English. [1] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scotland-Ecosse-Sticker-Number-Saltire/dp/B0055BNOMA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1389619165&sr=8-4&keywords=car+sticker+scotland+ecosse http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scotland-Ecosse-Sticker-Number-Salti...
    - faster 13y ago
      I never experienced the kind of hate that some Americans attribute to French people. As far as the French hating the English, have you ever listed to any Roald Dahl childrens' stories? They pretty much ensure that good English kids are raised to hate the French. I used to know an English family who played Roald Dahl CDs for their kids whenever they were in the car. It was frightening. So a little reflection of that isn't too surprising.
  - faster 13y ago
    The last time I tried I was with my wife and daughter, trying to get to the airport with luggage. I think the luggage scared them off. You know that the idea for Uber came from the founder's experience trying to get a taxi in Paris, right? That suggests I'm not alone in my experience with Parisian taxis. http://blog.uber.com/2010/12/22/ubers-founding/ http://blog.uber.com/2010/12/22/ubers-founding/
    - rmc 13y ago
      > You know that the idea for Uber came from the founder's experience trying to get a taxi in Paris, right? Actually that link says the complete opposite. It says that while in Paris, the founder were talking about their (bad) experience of getting a taxi in San Francisco. > Garrett Camp and I were hanging out in Paris for a week at Loic and Geraldine LeMeur’s LeWeb conference. Amongst the amazing food, the copious amounts of wine and inevitable nightlife crawls there were all kinds of discussions about what’s next. Garrett had sold StumbleUpon to Ebay and had been doing “hard time” at a big company. I had just completed my tour with Akamai after selling Red Swoosh to them in 2007. > > Jamming on ideas, rapping on what’s next is what entrepreneurs do. Garrett and I would get some good music, good drinks and jam until 5am. Garrett’s big idea was cracking the horrible taxi problem in San Francisco — getting stranded on the streets of San Francisco is familiar territory for any San Franciscan.
- david927 13y ago
  Where do you live in France? (I live near Nice.) Please send me an email, it's in my profile.
brohee 13y ago
How the hell can you end up paying the wrong price. There is a leaflet in the taxi itself explaining pricing, and there is a taximeter. And no expectation of tipping. Also prominently displayed is the number to call if something is wrong. For all its faults, it's a heavily regulated activity...
- david927 13y ago
  Seriously? I've lived in Prague for years and sometimes struggled with the taxis there (you have to use the right company, watch out for turbo which spins up the meter, etc.). I'm sorry but it's nothing compared to France. I don't know of a single local here who uses a taxi. I'm sure I could call the number to report each ride, but I'd just rather avoid it.
  - brohee 13y ago
    There are 17000 taxis in Paris, so I doubt that I'm their only customer. And I'll answer to your anecdotal evidence that 100% of the people I know take a taxi somewhat regularly...
  - rmc 13y ago
    Taxis in new accession states (i.e. 'out east') are IME more corrupt than taxis in countries in the west.

jsnk 13y ago

Strong trade unions are dandy and employment rights are okay too. Threats, violence and vandalism of someone else's property are not okay.

rtpg 13y ago

it's slightly ironic that the unions in France are strong despite low participation rates , and in the US there's much more participation. One could argue that , because of collective bargaining, there might not be that many advantages to joining a union in France (the biggest union ends up representing you anyways).