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Uber loses licence to operate in London, will still operate while appealing

(www.bbc.com)
256 points reubensutton | 10 comments | 25 Nov 19 10:19 UTC | HN request time: 0.867s | source | bottom
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harel ◴[25 Nov 19 14:37 UTC] No.21628429[source]▶
I'm not a fan of companies like Uber or AirBnB who attempt a violent takeover of a market. However, as a consumer who needs to get from A to B, or stay at some random city, I find those services invaluable. The black cabs in London are expensive, never around when you need them, and until recently might have refused card payments (now they just seem unhappy about it). At the very least I was hoping Uber would make that industry wake up and join the modern world, but instead they chose to protest and block roads. With Uber, I always have a car available within minutes and the prices are reasonable. I just hope that the competition will take their place (and driver mass) if they do end up leaving.
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thathndude ◴[25 Nov 19 14:39 UTC] No.21628452[source]▶
Yep. I'm always amazed at how quickly people crap on Uber. In hindsight it's not a particularly revolutionary service. But does everyone remember how much the Taxi system sucked?
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1. ghaff ◴[25 Nov 19 14:44 UTC] No.21628489[source]▶
London it's really not bad in my somewhat limited experience. (Usually take transit.) Yes it's more expensive than VC-subsidized rides but is better than taxis in most places.
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2. larnmar ◴[25 Nov 19 14:47 UTC] No.21628508[source]▶
The black cabs in London were excellent but ridiculously expensive, which is why I’ve only caught one, like, once. Most people have to rely on minicabs, which were sketchy and unreliable. Uber was a huge boon to London.
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3. dogma1138 ◴[25 Nov 19 14:50 UTC] No.21628540[source]▶
Black cabs only work in the center, even in Zone 2 there are plenty places where you won't find one and where they won't be willing to go.

Car hire can work but it's often more expensive, needs to be booked ahead of time and they also refuse trips that aren't profitable for them.

Uber openen up travel for many people in London, especially at night. It's quite easy to find a lot of places in London that aren't serviced by Night Buses, there are plenty of places that are 15-30 min walk from a tube station, and the Night Tube is only available on select lines and only during the weekend.

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4. nailer ◴[25 Nov 19 14:53 UTC] No.21628565[source]▶
> Black cabs only work in the center

They're bad in the center too. I live in London bridge / SE1 and black cabs still illegally refuse to take me home from say, Shoreditch because they can't be bothered crossing the river.

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5. dogma1138 ◴[25 Nov 19 14:54 UTC] No.21628569[source]▶
Black cabs in the city are excellent, try hailing a black cab from anywhere not within 5-10 min walking from a major transportation hub like Pad, KingsX, Victoria, Euston and outside of the City's financial bubble.
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6. notahacker ◴[25 Nov 19 15:00 UTC] No.21628634[source]▶
There are also minicabs everywhere, some of which have app-based booking, and Uber certainly isn't the only rideshare app Londoners can use.
7. Symbiote ◴[25 Nov 19 15:37 UTC] No.21628999[source]▶
I mostly lived in London just before Uber.

I don't know if they still do, but many nightclubs would have some arrangement where there was someone from a minicab company in the lobby or just outside. You'd say "W3", he'd say "That'll be £20, in 10 minutes time" and you could wait in the warm until the car arrived. (Of course, if you knew a number for a different company, you could phone them yourself.)

The drivers were pretty clueless -- even a fairly large inner-London station name like "Ealing Broadway" would frequently be misunderstood, and they'd want to slowly type a postcode into a satnav -- but otherwise they were OK.

8. notkaiho ◴[25 Nov 19 16:32 UTC] No.21629767{4}[source]▶
"nah mate, don't go sarf of the river, me"
9. product50 ◴[25 Nov 19 18:07 UTC] No.21630955{3}[source]▶
The OP literally said it was excellent. But expensive. What is your point?
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10. dogma1138 ◴[25 Nov 19 20:50 UTC] No.21632664{4}[source]▶
That they service only a minuscule part of London and refuse to take rides that take them outside of it.

Even in the center good luck hailing one at 2am on a Saturday night.

I’ve been refused rides form the Shard, Bank, and Canary Wharf plto Lancaster gate, both of which are in Zone 1.

If I want to hail a cab from my home I have to walk 10 min to Paddington and I live essentially across from Hyde Park which makes me considerably more central than most people in London.

For my friends who live in Hammersmith, Fulham, Acton and Chiswick they might as well be living in Belgium as far as black cabs are concerned they don’t go there and they won’t take you there.