The Robins Nest Forum

TfL announce they aren't granting Uber a licence to operate in London once the current one runs out on 30th September.

Citing disregard for passenger safety and attitude to crime by drivers as the main reason.

I am pleased to see that, at last, somebody in the UK has the ability to stand up to the bully boy approach of American companies.

Red Duke wrote:I am pleased to see that, at last, somebody in the UK has the ability to stand up to the bully boy approach of American companies.

Hopefully the courts will do the same. Uber are throwing lawyers and PR mercenaries at the case now. It must be pretty clear cut if TfL have deemed that they do not abide by the rules all taxi companies have to.

can't see what the uber drivers are bleating on about. Well, I assume they are bleating on as I can't understand any of the ones that were interviewed. All that needs done, is to join a taxi firm and hey presto, back in work

I had to laugh at the report at the number of people that have signed a petition to allow Uber to continue. Are 500.000 people that stupid? What an irrelevance - Uber need to obey UK law - simples.

Red Duke wrote:I had to laugh at the report at the number of people that have signed a petition to allow Uber to continue. Are 500.000 people that stupid? What an irrelevance - Uber need to obey UK law - simples.

Power of Uber's PR mercenaries.

Probably equates to the amount of people who need to use the 'get me home' option

Don’t know much about the taxi services in London but after listening to the concerns of Londoners on the radio it seems that UBER are the cheapest, convenient and easiest for the general public.

Malabus wrote:Don’t know much about the taxi services in London but after listening to the concerns of Londoners on the radio it seems that UBER are the cheapest, convenient and easiest for the general public.

Only by virtue of flouting laws and defying regulation. I do feel for the drivers and customers; they have been let down by a company refusing to comply to the same laws as the rest of the industry. If Uber can't compete in the market without bending rules, then simple free market and business sense dictates they should close.

I suspect in reality Uber could operate legally and still be the most profitable online transport platform and be the cheapest and most convenient taxi service. That is what a proper capitalist investor and company would do. However, Uber are one of the new breed of post-capitalism rent-seeking monopoly building companies who think the jurisdiction of government and social responsibility does not apply to them. Their aim is to be so big that governments and society can't stop them doing whatever it is they want.

Anyway, I like how Uber are saying it will cause job losses. When a) Uber are one of the biggest investors in autonomous driverless vehicles so they want to get rid of drivers asap themselves anyway and b) those 3.5m customers will still need taxis and will just use a different app or service which ex-Uber drivers can switch too. Uber is in Newcastle, but a few of the local firms have their own apps which are just as easy and convenient to use.

I know Silicon Valley bros think they are God's gift and masters of the universe, so about time they learned that rules and regulation apply to them as well.

+1 absolutely no reason to join the race to the bottom