Passengers pulled from 'illegal' Uber cab

Forums › Travel (planes, train, cruise) › Passengers pulled from 'illegal' Uber cab

1 | ... | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

2080 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 226

#1212746 12-Jan-2015 20:54

At least an Uber driver isn't going to steal your credit card details and submit false charges like Sydney taxi drivers have done multiple times in the past.

gzt

18689 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7828

Lifetime subscriber

#1212853 12-Jan-2015 23:09

KiwiNZ:

KiwiNZ's questions; quick answers:

Do Uber drivers have P endorsements?

Yes. It is a legal requirement for driving any passenger vehicle.

Do Uber drivers display Photo ID?

Yes. It is a legal requirement.

Do Uber drivers display their fees both inside and outside the vehicle?

No. This is not a legal requirement for private hire vehicles & to state the obvious the fee is variable and the app takes care of that side of things. To me it seems a bit silly that the app only displays the price if the user selects it.

Do Uber drivers have checks including Police to determine character etc?

Yes. A Police check is a requirement of the 'P' license endorsement. Beyond that it is up to individual companies to go further than the basic if they wish for things like character references etc.

Do Uber drivers sit and pass language and area knowledge test? Not legally required for private hire vehicles.

No. This is not a legal requirement for private hire.

Do Uber drivers keep logbooks?

Yes. It is a legal requirement.

Signature goes here.

Kyanar

4089 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1684

ID Verified

Trusted

#1212924 13-Jan-2015 08:43

gzt:
Do Uber drivers sit and pass language and area knowledge test? Not legally required for private hire vehicles.

No. This is not a legal requirement for private hire.

I was under the impression that area knowledge is required for a P endorsement. Is that not the case?

MikeB4

MikeB4
18776 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 12767

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#1212950 13-Jan-2015 08:58

gzt:
KiwiNZ:

KiwiNZ's questions; quick answers:

Do Uber drivers have P endorsements?

Yes. It is a legal requirement for driving any passenger vehicle.

Do Uber drivers display Photo ID?

Yes. It is a legal requirement.

Do Uber drivers display their fees both inside and outside the vehicle?

No. This is not a legal requirement for private hire vehicles & to state the obvious the fee is variable and the app takes care of that side of things. To me it seems a bit silly that the app only displays the price if the user selects it.

Do Uber drivers have checks including Police to determine character etc?

Yes. A Police check is a requirement of the 'P' license endorsement. Beyond that it is up to individual companies to go further than the basic if they wish for things like character references etc.

Do Uber drivers sit and pass language and area knowledge test? Not legally required for private hire vehicles.

No. This is not a legal requirement for private hire.

Do Uber drivers keep logbooks?

Yes. It is a legal requirement.

Thanks for that, good to know. It does mean that it brings Uber drivers closer to Taxi drivers in the requirements and costs etc so it appears the playing field is a bit more even than I had originally thought. It would seem the issue of "metering" is the biggie and in my humble flawed opinion the
best place to sort this out is either the Minister of Transport reviews the law and adjusts if required or it is tested in Court to gain a legal precedent.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

tdgeek

30048 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9455

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1212954 13-Jan-2015 09:10

KiwiNZ:
gzt:
KiwiNZ:

KiwiNZ's questions; quick answers:

Do Uber drivers have P endorsements?

Yes. It is a legal requirement for driving any passenger vehicle.

Do Uber drivers display Photo ID?

Yes. It is a legal requirement.

Do Uber drivers display their fees both inside and outside the vehicle?

No. This is not a legal requirement for private hire vehicles & to state the obvious the fee is variable and the app takes care of that side of things. To me it seems a bit silly that the app only displays the price if the user selects it.

Do Uber drivers have checks including Police to determine character etc?

Yes. A Police check is a requirement of the 'P' license endorsement. Beyond that it is up to individual companies to go further than the basic if they wish for things like character references etc.

Do Uber drivers sit and pass language and area knowledge test? Not legally required for private hire vehicles.

No. This is not a legal requirement for private hire.

Do Uber drivers keep logbooks?

Yes. It is a legal requirement.

Thanks for that, god to know. It does mean that it brings Uber drivers closer to Taxi drivers in the requirements and costs etc so it appears teh playing field is a bit more even than I had originally thought. It would seem the issue of "metering" is the biggie and in my humble flawed opinion the
best place to sort this out is either the Minister of Transport reviews the law and adjusts if required or it is tested in Court to gain a legal precedent.

Another option is for Uber to evaluate the fares, and come up with a formula for a fixed fare based on the GPS stats for each customers route, taking into account any variables that they are currently metering on the app.

Kyanar

4089 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1684

ID Verified

Trusted

#1212969 13-Jan-2015 09:28

Technofreak:
From where I sit Uber want to have the benefits of running a Taxi service without paying for the privilege. No wonder they are cheaper. There's nothing stopping them from setting up a taxi service. Why haven't they done it?

In London, that's exact'y what they've done: http://blog.uber.com/UberTAXI

Why they don't just do this everywhere that paleolithic regulations exist, who knows.

lucky015:
scuwp:
lucky015: To my understanding (which is probably wrong) Uber is fixed variable pricing within a set quote, this quote exists whether the customer checks it priror to booking or not and the price will always fall within the given quote range, This to me is far superior to unpredictable taxi's.

Don't disagree, but the current law requires private hire services (Uber) to agree to a price at the time of hiring, or agree on an hourly rate. That's the crux of the problem. If the price is variable, then it's not fixed. Terms are contradictory.

I would tend to suggest that customers are agreeing to a price at the time of hiring, A price within a set range, Those that do not view the estimate are simply accepting the same price without viewing.

Except that the law states it must be a fixed price, not a fixed range. If it changes, at all, during the journey, then it's not fixed, and it therefore doesn't qualify as a private hire. They can't have their cake and eat everyone else's too.

nathan:
Find a contact me form on their website, provide all details, cab number, taxi driver name, reg number, invoice number, time

No reply.

Complain directly to the New Zealand Transport Agency. Every taxi has a sticker that gives the details for their own complaints process, and the details to complain to the NZTA if they don't sort it. That's highly unprofessional of them.

Geekzone support

Support Geekzone with one-off or recurring donations Donate via PressPatron.

turnin

509 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 155
Inactive user

#1213247 13-Jan-2015 15:37

A few years ago when I was a student I wrote an app that did pretty much what UBER does. Except it was aimed at everyone being a driver rather than having specific taxi drivers and it was free. I was encouraged to take it to a couple of ad agencies, who told me it might have legs, but the biggest issue is trusting who you would hop into a car with. On that basis I tried to pitch it to a cellphone company on the basis that they do know who their on account customers are, that was 2009

In the interim about 100 or so of these apps have popped up Avago seemed to be propagating well for a while but they all had two big issues, getting the money to spread it through the app world and trust. Then came Sidecar, Lyft, Curb and UBER, Uber also started in 2009 but has attracted an enormous amount of money. Disruption comes with benefits, especially for UBER but I do worry about some of the issues. Surge pricing has seen unethical rises in busy times eg the Sydney Terrorist attacks caused a 6 x fee increase and New Years Eve was similar. Uber also won't be stopping with taxis, it will expand shortly into courier work using the convenience of pre-existing traffic and I do wonder who will be paying for the 100,000 odd full time taxi and couriers who will be made redundant in the next few years. Joining Uber does not seem to pay anywhere near as much as a traditional cab job and Uber will no doubt drop the price they pay once they have a monopoly. Uber has a tricky tax structure in other countries and with many lobbyists and even suggestions of destroying newspaper reporters lives/reputations who speak ill of it http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/uber-executive-suggests-digging-up-dirt-on-journalists#.suLoj2q4Z I have to raise a cautious eyebrow.

Yes it will be cheaper in the short term for the consumer, but in the long term it might be more expensive for the country and the majority of profit again goes offshore. All for technology, all for efficiency and I do like the idea of mild disruption but to be this seems like unbridled capitalism that benefits UBER and no one else.

Naturally I like the concept of UBER but I do not like how they play their game. In this case, perhaps for the wrong reasons I think good on the police for trying to protect the jobs of thousands if not tens of thousands. Its a pity that disruption through tech has to affect the everyday person to this level.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#1213251 13-Jan-2015 15:50

Surge pricing is a classic example of basic economics at work. You may not agree with it, but it's a great example of an unregulated market implementation of basic supply and demand.

In Sydney and Melbourne on New Year's eve it's not uncommon to have to wait upwards of an hour minimum for a taxi. A person has a choice of whether they want to pay a premium to get a ride ASAP, or take their chances with waiting for a taxi or other means of transport. I'd bet a $1 wager that if you asked 100 taxi drivers on New Years Eve whether they would love to charge extra you'd get an overwhelming yes response.

You also can't tell me taxi companies don't agree with the basic economic concept of surge pricing, after all many charge different rates at different times of the day. Why? Basic supply and demand.

Bringing up the Sydney terror attacks is also an interesting example - Uber didn't raise prices, prices surged because demand exceeded supply of vehicles. Surge pricing hit 4x because of demand - it's algorithms that calculate pricing, not people. I can't see any mention of either hitting 6x surge pricing.

Uber are far from a perfect company, there is no question about that. They're pushing boundaries everywhere, and in some markets they're winning, and other they're losing.

blakamin

4431 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1306
Inactive user

#1213261 13-Jan-2015 16:12

sbiddle:

Bringing up the Sydney terror attacks is also an interesting example - Uber didn't raise prices, prices surged because demand exceeded supply of vehicles. Surge pricing hit 4x because of demand - it's algorithms that calculate pricing, not people. I can't see any mention of either hitting 6x surge pricing.

And then they reversed it and all rides out of the CBD were free.

http://blog.uber.com/sydneysiege

"We are all concerned with the events happening in Sydney.

Uber Sydney will be providing free rides out of the CBD to help Sydneysiders get home safely.

Our thoughts are with those affected and the NSW Police Force.

We are in the process of refunding rides. If you have been charged during these hours leaving the CBD please email supportsydney@uber.com.

Please note that surge pricing is used to encourage more drivers to come online and pick up passengers from the area.

Updates will follow on Twitter – @Uber_Sydney

*Maximum one trip per person"

nickb800

2735 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 829

Trusted

#1213263 13-Jan-2015 16:14

The key thing with UBER and other disruptive technologies that slash prices is that price decreases will likely increase the quantity demanded. If cabs are cheaper, then people will take them more often, thus creating more work for cabbies. Cabbies should be able to earn a similar amount after they move to a lower cost model as they won't be paying or borrowing (with interest) silly amounts of $$ for a taxi badge/plate

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#1213265 13-Jan-2015 16:15

Kyanar:
Technofreak:
From where I sit Uber want to have the benefits of running a Taxi service without paying for the privilege. No wonder they are cheaper. There's nothing stopping them from setting up a taxi service. Why haven't they done it?

In London, that's exact'y what they've done: http://blog.uber.com/UberTAXI

Sydney has UberTAXI as well.

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

turnin

509 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 155
Inactive user

#1213289 13-Jan-2015 16:39

sbiddle: Surge pricing is a classic example of basic economics at work. You may not agree with it, but it's a great example of an unregulated market implementation of basic supply and demand.

In Sydney and Melbourne on New Year's eve it's not uncommon to have to wait upwards of an hour minimum for a taxi. A person has a choice of whether they want to pay a premium to get a ride ASAP, or take their chances with waiting for a taxi or other means of transport. I'd bet a $1 wager that if you asked 100 taxi drivers on New Years Eve whether they would love to charge extra you'd get an overwhelming yes response.

You also can't tell me taxi companies don't agree with the basic economic concept of surge pricing, after all many charge different rates at different times of the day. Why? Basic supply and demand.

Bringing up the Sydney terror attacks is also an interesting example - Uber didn't raise prices, prices surged because demand exceeded supply of vehicles. Surge pricing hit 4x because of demand - it's algorithms that calculate pricing, not people. I can't see any mention of either hitting 6x surge pricing.

Uber are far from a perfect company, there is no question about that. They're pushing boundaries everywhere, and in some markets they're winning, and other they're losing.

13.75 x surge

http://uberpeople.net/threads/huge-surge-price-13-75.1526/page-3

Not sure, would it be acceptable if all industries charged exponential amounts when demand was high, telco's etc .
I guess its up to the market but if UBER wipe out their competition there wont be a lot of choice.

turnin

509 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 155
Inactive user

#1213292 13-Jan-2015 16:46

nickb800: Cabbies should be able to earn a similar amount after they move to a lower cost model as they won't be paying or borrowing (with interest) silly amounts of $$ for a taxi badge/plate

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/uber-drivers-say-theyre-making-less-than-minimum-wage-2014-10

be interesting to see what drivers are saying in 12 months

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1630
Inactive user

#1213306 13-Jan-2015 17:46

I'm not what is unethical about surge pricing.

Its explained in the app before you book and no one is forcing you to use Uber in times of higher demand.

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1630
Inactive user

#1213307 13-Jan-2015 17:56

I also don't get job protection thing. If you cant compete tough luck

Imagine where we'd be if we made things by hand instead of using robots. Why should we be inefficient. Lets stop using lawn mowers and employee people to cut grass by hand so we can protect jobs.

Taxi federation is essentially a cartel. Resting on their laurels of how things have always been. They could have developed an app that lets me book and pay using my phone and id use them. That's the main reason I use uber, convenience of booking, knowing how how away driver is, quick payment at the end.

1 | ... | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9