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I'm interested to see how Uber will be regulated by the UK government. Taxi companies are regulated for extremely good reasons. I know people sing Uber's prai

I'm interested to see how Uber will be regulated by the UK government. Taxi companies are regulated for extremely good reasons. I know people sing Uber's praises but regulations exist for good reasons. Some exist for bad reasons too but they are largely there to protect people. Would you get in a stranger's car? And to preempt the downvoters: I'm not saying I don't want competition. I want competition and safety for the general public.

viraptor 12y ago
> Would you get in a stranger's car? Yes. And I do that when I get into any cab. This is one argument I never understood. People providing taxi-like services for other people need additional licenses for street safety - sure. But what can be safer apart from that? The person inside could just as well have just stolen the car. They are complete strangers.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- michaelt 12y ago
  > This is one argument I never understood. As I understand it, regulation of private hire vehicles is motivated by regular rapes of attractive, young, drunk women on the way home from nights out. With that said, as long as Uber verifies that all drivers have the correct vehicle and driver license and background checks [1] I don't see how they're any different to Addison Lee and those. [1] www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/become-a-private-hire-licensee
  - viraptor 12y ago
    Should've added more context probably - I don't understand it in case of Uber specifically, since it provides more information automatically than is available in a standard cab. Specifically both you and the driver get GPS tracked by the application and you get more info about the car/driver than in case of a usual cab. I'm assuming Uber does at least the standard background checks for new employees.
- coherentpony 12y ago
  >This is one argument I never understood. People providing taxi-like services for other people need additional licenses for street safety - sure. But what can be safer apart from that? It appears I wasn't very clear. The checks and balances that are done by a private company are allowed to be less rigorous than government-enforced regulations. This doesn't just mean that additional licences are needed, it means that extra regulations need to be adhered to. Of course, a private company can choose to go above and beyond these regulations if they so choose, and Uber may even do this.
hahainternet 12y ago
> Taxi companies are regulated for extremely good reasons. I know people sing Uber's praises but regulations exist for good reasons. Some exist for bad reasons too but they are largely there to protect people. From what I can tell, they are fully registered as private hire cars. The ones I've seen in Manchester have the same taxi branding as any other.
- coherentpony 12y ago
  >From what I can tell, they are fully registered as private hire cars. The ones I've seen in Manchester have the same taxi branding as any other. Is it the case they have to be, though? That's where the argument breaks down here. I'm not saying Uber don't go above and beyond what's necessary to provide a safe service, I'm saying that regulation provides assurances (to a certain degree) to the patrons of this service.
Stately 12y ago
Why can't we just do like they do in America? Uber's been there for a while now and it works incredibly well. Apparently Uber cabs are safer than minicabs: http://blog.uber.com/chicagotaxicrime http://blog.uber.com/chicagotaxicrime
- coherentpony 12y ago
  The comparison with America is moot since it's the same company providing the service. It works the same way. It works well in London too. The problem here is not that it doesn't work well. The problem is that the LTDA are protesting against a free market because now they have competition. The link you posted was interesting. I'm glad Uber cited some good references. It's a shame it's focused on one city it would be nice to see aggregate data for several cities, and also for each city separately. London is also not quite as big as Chicago, and it's harder to get guns in the UK. There are a lot of factors involved in the comparison of crime between the US and the UK that are overlooked.
nemothekid 12y ago
>Would you get in a stranger's car? I do, all the time.
- coherentpony 12y ago
  >I do, all the time. Alright. Now would you let your daughter do it? I certainly wouldn't.
  - nemothekid 12y ago
    Are you from the UK? I feel you may have a higher standard of taxi drivers that is far above expectations that you would expect stateside. If I wasn't comfortable letting my daughter ride an uber, I sure as hell wouldn't be comfortable letting my daughter ride a taxi. Thus far, Uber has consistently provided a far better and comfortable ride than a standard taxi. If regulation hasn't prevented taxi drivers that have, in my experience talked on the phone while driving, lied to me and said they don't accept credit cards, or are just plain hard to flag down. From my, single POV, Uber drivers are that much better and the belief that regulation has 1.) created an acceptable minimum taxi service (it hasn't) 2.) will ensure Uber has a high quality (it already does) is one I can't fully swallow. Uber already does a great job of vetting their drivers (I've heard drivers who receive even a few bad ratings are sacked) and honestly if the service was so dangerous it wouldn't be such a sought after alternatives to Taxis.
infogulch 12y ago
What regulations provide what safety precautions? I'm genuinely interested. I have a feeling that technology completely solves most of these problems. For example, there's a monopoly on the word "taxi" to prevent impersonation and kidnapping / mugging. But with technology your phone can tell you exactly what car is picking you up, from the model and color all the way down to the licence plate.
- coherentpony 12y ago
  >What regulations provide what safety precautions? I'm genuinely interested. Is it the case one could pick up a minor? If so, are there CRB checks done on the drivers? Taxi drivers need to pass an extra driving test to ensure an extremely high quality standard of driving. Does Uber do that? Regulations don't necessarily make things safer, they provide assurances to the public that a minimum standard has to be attained. For taxi companies, this standard is rather high. I'm not saying Uber don't go above and beyond these, I'm saying they aren't forced to.

viraptor 12y ago

> Would you get in a stranger's car? Yes. And I do that when I get into any cab. This is one argument I never understood. People providing taxi-like services for other people need additional licenses for street safety - sure. But what can be safer apart from that? The person inside could just as well have just stolen the car. They are complete strangers.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
michaelt 12y ago
> This is one argument I never understood. As I understand it, regulation of private hire vehicles is motivated by regular rapes of attractive, young, drunk women on the way home from nights out. With that said, as long as Uber verifies that all drivers have the correct vehicle and driver license and background checks [1] I don't see how they're any different to Addison Lee and those. [1] www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/become-a-private-hire-licensee
- viraptor 12y ago
  Should've added more context probably - I don't understand it in case of Uber specifically, since it provides more information automatically than is available in a standard cab. Specifically both you and the driver get GPS tracked by the application and you get more info about the car/driver than in case of a usual cab. I'm assuming Uber does at least the standard background checks for new employees.
coherentpony 12y ago
>This is one argument I never understood. People providing taxi-like services for other people need additional licenses for street safety - sure. But what can be safer apart from that? It appears I wasn't very clear. The checks and balances that are done by a private company are allowed to be less rigorous than government-enforced regulations. This doesn't just mean that additional licences are needed, it means that extra regulations need to be adhered to. Of course, a private company can choose to go above and beyond these regulations if they so choose, and Uber may even do this.

hahainternet 12y ago

> Taxi companies are regulated for extremely good reasons. I know people sing Uber's praises but regulations exist for good reasons. Some exist for bad reasons too but they are largely there to protect people. From what I can tell, they are fully registered as private hire cars. The ones I've seen in Manchester have the same taxi branding as any other.

coherentpony 12y ago
>From what I can tell, they are fully registered as private hire cars. The ones I've seen in Manchester have the same taxi branding as any other. Is it the case they have to be, though? That's where the argument breaks down here. I'm not saying Uber don't go above and beyond what's necessary to provide a safe service, I'm saying that regulation provides assurances (to a certain degree) to the patrons of this service.

Stately 12y ago

Why can't we just do like they do in America? Uber's been there for a while now and it works incredibly well. Apparently Uber cabs are safer than minicabs: http://blog.uber.com/chicagotaxicrime http://blog.uber.com/chicagotaxicrime

coherentpony 12y ago
The comparison with America is moot since it's the same company providing the service. It works the same way. It works well in London too. The problem here is not that it doesn't work well. The problem is that the LTDA are protesting against a free market because now they have competition. The link you posted was interesting. I'm glad Uber cited some good references. It's a shame it's focused on one city it would be nice to see aggregate data for several cities, and also for each city separately. London is also not quite as big as Chicago, and it's harder to get guns in the UK. There are a lot of factors involved in the comparison of crime between the US and the UK that are overlooked.

nemothekid 12y ago

>Would you get in a stranger's car? I do, all the time.

coherentpony 12y ago
>I do, all the time. Alright. Now would you let your daughter do it? I certainly wouldn't.
- nemothekid 12y ago
  Are you from the UK? I feel you may have a higher standard of taxi drivers that is far above expectations that you would expect stateside. If I wasn't comfortable letting my daughter ride an uber, I sure as hell wouldn't be comfortable letting my daughter ride a taxi. Thus far, Uber has consistently provided a far better and comfortable ride than a standard taxi. If regulation hasn't prevented taxi drivers that have, in my experience talked on the phone while driving, lied to me and said they don't accept credit cards, or are just plain hard to flag down. From my, single POV, Uber drivers are that much better and the belief that regulation has 1.) created an acceptable minimum taxi service (it hasn't) 2.) will ensure Uber has a high quality (it already does) is one I can't fully swallow. Uber already does a great job of vetting their drivers (I've heard drivers who receive even a few bad ratings are sacked) and honestly if the service was so dangerous it wouldn't be such a sought after alternatives to Taxis.

infogulch 12y ago

What regulations provide what safety precautions? I'm genuinely interested. I have a feeling that technology completely solves most of these problems. For example, there's a monopoly on the word "taxi" to prevent impersonation and kidnapping / mugging. But with technology your phone can tell you exactly what car is picking you up, from the model and color all the way down to the licence plate.

coherentpony 12y ago
>What regulations provide what safety precautions? I'm genuinely interested. Is it the case one could pick up a minor? If so, are there CRB checks done on the drivers? Taxi drivers need to pass an extra driving test to ensure an extremely high quality standard of driving. Does Uber do that? Regulations don't necessarily make things safer, they provide assurances to the public that a minimum standard has to be attained. For taxi companies, this standard is rather high. I'm not saying Uber don't go above and beyond these, I'm saying they aren't forced to.