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UberPop are unlicensed taxis in private cars masquerading as ride-shares. Which they obviously aren't, since the paying client decides the destination. I would

UberPop are unlicensed taxis in private cars masquerading as ride-shares. Which they obviously aren't, since the paying client decides the destination. I would be surprised if UberPop is still in operation anywhere in Europe by the summer of 2015. It's patently illegal on multiple fronts. Some governments are open to providing a regulatory framework (one that covers safety and consumer protection), especially in places where the taxi market is dysfunctional, but Uber's "fuck your laws, we'll do it anyway" attitude is extremely counterproductive in that respect. UberX is a professional limousine service, and in most places they operate they abide by the rules. (Which also means they're not particularly cheaper than regular taxis.)

mynameisvlad 12y ago
> UberX is a professional limousine service That sounds like Uber/UberBlack to me. UberX is still citizen drivers in their own cars doing it in their own time. I highly doubt they are professionally licensed.
- corin_ 12y ago
  I'm not the person you're replying to, but from a consumer point of view UberX feels like a limo service (in Paris, London..) In London for example, if you didn't know anything about the company, you wouldn't know the UberX drivers were any different to more traditionally set-up private firms like Addison Lee. Whereas UberPop in Paris felt like getting a ride from an amateur.
  - mynameisvlad 12y ago
    Huh, that's interesting. Over here (Seattle), UberX feels more like Paris' UberPop (citizen drivers, their cars, however still some regulation by Uber) and UberBlack is the full on towncar service that's professionally licensed (and most of them run private car services on the side).
- potatolicious 12y ago
  This varies depending on geography. In some cities UberX are regular citizen drivers, but in others UberX are professional drivers. Here in New York all UberX cars, and their drivers, are licensed in the same category as black cars and limos.
HackinOut 12y ago
I am a consumer (of UberPop among other transport solutions) and I am (genuinely) not understanding: agreed it's not ride-shares, but why is there laws that make non-ride-shares so complicated? UberPop is simple, for the driver, the consumer and it drives the costs down, this sounds really nice to me. If it's only about safety and consumer protection, well shouldn't it be a consumer choice anyway? (agreed it's easy for me, a male above 30 to tell this... and despite the bad experiences I also had in Paris with UberPop although my drivers had GPSes - one had 2 of them, was confused as hell and should certainly be looking more at the road) Just like I do when I choose real ride-shares (i.e. not UberPop. We have blablacar in France for example which is hitchhiking through the internet). It seems that, in France, politics made a huge mistake coming up with horrendously expensive (apparently 200k to 300k EUR) taxi licenses and now some people are at risk to pay for those mistakes, namely people who have recently invested in one of this license. Cause even if UberPop is banned, VTC (Vehicule de Tourisme avec Chauffeur) are now legal and make those licenses quite useless (or at least the investment isn't nearly as justified as before). It's obvious to me that the law have to go in the direction of new technology or the consequences will be quite disastrous. I agree that Uber's attitude seems a bit harsh but I would thanks them for any induced (political) changes in the direction of technology. EDIT: didn't know the adverb "patently" was not referring to patents, thanks dminor for teaching me english :) (I'm french obviously :/)
- k-mcgrady 12y ago
  >> "If it's only about safety and consumer protection, well shouldn't it be a consumer choice anyway?" Ideally BUT it's unlikely the consumer will have the full information to make that choice. Is the taxi going to provide it and wait until they've read it and made an informed decision?
- dminor 12y ago
  > The word "patent" sounds especially weird to me in that context. Are they seriously "patents" for taxiing people? "Patently" is a synonym for "obviously" - nothing to do with patents.
  - joeyo 12y ago
deleted 12y ago
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mynameisvlad 12y ago

> UberX is a professional limousine service That sounds like Uber/UberBlack to me. UberX is still citizen drivers in their own cars doing it in their own time. I highly doubt they are professionally licensed.

corin_ 12y ago
I'm not the person you're replying to, but from a consumer point of view UberX feels like a limo service (in Paris, London..) In London for example, if you didn't know anything about the company, you wouldn't know the UberX drivers were any different to more traditionally set-up private firms like Addison Lee. Whereas UberPop in Paris felt like getting a ride from an amateur.
- mynameisvlad 12y ago
  Huh, that's interesting. Over here (Seattle), UberX feels more like Paris' UberPop (citizen drivers, their cars, however still some regulation by Uber) and UberBlack is the full on towncar service that's professionally licensed (and most of them run private car services on the side).
potatolicious 12y ago
This varies depending on geography. In some cities UberX are regular citizen drivers, but in others UberX are professional drivers. Here in New York all UberX cars, and their drivers, are licensed in the same category as black cars and limos.

HackinOut 12y ago

I am a consumer (of UberPop among other transport solutions) and I am (genuinely) not understanding: agreed it's not ride-shares, but why is there laws that make non-ride-shares so complicated? UberPop is simple, for the driver, the consumer and it drives the costs down, this sounds really nice to me. If it's only about safety and consumer protection, well shouldn't it be a consumer choice anyway? (agreed it's easy for me, a male above 30 to tell this... and despite the bad experiences I also had in Paris with UberPop although my drivers had GPSes - one had 2 of them, was confused as hell and should certainly be looking more at the road) Just like I do when I choose real ride-shares (i.e. not UberPop. We have blablacar in France for example which is hitchhiking through the internet). It seems that, in France, politics made a huge mistake coming up with horrendously expensive (apparently 200k to 300k EUR) taxi licenses and now some people are at risk to pay for those mistakes, namely people who have recently invested in one of this license. Cause even if UberPop is banned, VTC (Vehicule de Tourisme avec Chauffeur) are now legal and make those licenses quite useless (or at least the investment isn't nearly as justified as before). It's obvious to me that the law have to go in the direction of new technology or the consequences will be quite disastrous. I agree that Uber's attitude seems a bit harsh but I would thanks them for any induced (political) changes in the direction of technology. EDIT: didn't know the adverb "patently" was not referring to patents, thanks dminor for teaching me english :) (I'm french obviously :/)

k-mcgrady 12y ago
>> "If it's only about safety and consumer protection, well shouldn't it be a consumer choice anyway?" Ideally BUT it's unlikely the consumer will have the full information to make that choice. Is the taxi going to provide it and wait until they've read it and made an informed decision?
dminor 12y ago
> The word "patent" sounds especially weird to me in that context. Are they seriously "patents" for taxiing people? "Patently" is a synonym for "obviously" - nothing to do with patents.
- joeyo 12y ago

deleted 12y ago

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