London black-cab drivers are planning to cause gridlock in the city to protest against car service Uber.
The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association complains that Uber’s drivers are using a smartphone app to calculate fares despite it being illegal for private vehicles to be fitted with taximeters.
This is one of the few instances where I like both parties.
Every time i’ve tried Uber in London, the drivers are useless and rely on satnav. Gimme a Black Cabbie any day of the week, they know the streets like the backs of their hands.
here in New Orleans our cab services suck big time. the dispatch lines won’t take scheduled fares (ala “Pick up in 2 hours”) and they refuse to give estimates on how long a current cab will take to pickup. It’s maddening. in this environment Uber is welcomed because they’ll provide services the established (and protected) market is not.
Here in Oklahoma City, the cab services are pretty lousy if you want to go anywhere other than to or from the airport. If you live in an outlying suburb (within 15 to 20 minutes of OKC) and are going somewhere other than to catch a flight, good luck getting a cab. I worked at a hotel 15 minutes north, and the independent cab services were gobbled up by Yellow Cab quickly (sometimes keeping their same name so you don’t realize they are run by Yellow). I had to take guests to some places myself because Yellow Cab just never showed up after I called and called again and called a third time.
If there is a chance Uber could provide some rides to people outside of the OKC-central area and the airport runs, then I’d be on it in a heartbeat. In the case of the hotel, it’d at least be something to offer the guest as a choice.
Do they still have that ridiculously difficult exam to get a cabbie license? If Uber driver don’t have to take that, that would give them quite an unfair advantage…
This – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knowledge#The_Knowledge