Uber cars and the Uber app have come into the conversation at home recently.
I have been aware of Uber for a little while, but not really had any direct contact until this week. It seems to work! Do many people in the UK use it? Does it work well? What's your experience?
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I never use taxis, but a friend who is a taxi driver can't stop going on about how good it is and demonstrating it. They get issued with an older model iPhone with restrictions and the Uber driver app and can sign on and off and pick jobs that come up. He prefers being paid up front and no arguing over fares or chance of them running off without paying or robbing him.
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It works very well indeed. Marginally cheaper than a black cab, sometimes.
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My mates in London are all over it. We were in a boozer a few weeks ago in Chiswick, needing to get to Twickenham mid-evening. Public transport on that route is a bit inconvenient, so one lad booked up an Uber, to be split between three of us.
The customer gets to choose which driver he wants based on who is available and where, and you get to see what vehicle they are all offering. You can track them in real time on their way to the pick up point. My mate chose a 5 series BMW for the trip.
Geezer arrived promptly and in we got, and confirmed destination. Sussex Arms pub. However, there was some confusion to start with as, looking at the guy's sat nav, we were heading for the Sussex Arms in Paddington. Good job my mate in the front seat was switched on and spotted the mistake, a swift re programme and U-turn and we were on our way.
Driver turned out to be an avuncular, friendly Romanian chappie. Good smooth driver, spotlessly clean and smooth car.
Uber recently applied to Reading Borough Council to operate here, but the regressive and authoritarian Labour council knocked them back, making some spectacularly laughable, out-of-touch comments (about disapproving of people using smartphones) in Committee when the proposal was discussed, and dismissed it out of hand. Meanwhile, Slough Borough Council have given them the go-ahead. The difference between the two towns? Reading has a large population of vociferous, entitled, official black cab drivers to protect, Slough is mostly minicab land.
Sigh.
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>>The customer gets to choose which driver he wants based on who is available and where
Don't think you do...
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Only reporting what I remember happening on the one occasion I was party to its use. I could be wrong. I was quite, erm, refreshed at the time, but I recall the chap who made the booking asking us if a BMW 5 was OK before pressing "book".
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Those I know who use Uber taxis and the Uber app cannot praise the service highly enough.
They originally get the first £10 of fares free (usually enough for two long journeys) and, if they introduce a new customer, they get a further first £10 free along with the newcomer.
Apart from the fact that they can use a particular driver if they wish, there are various methods of fares payment available.
We have three major taxi companies in my town - all excellent and good value - but the Uber users still prefer their choice.
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>> Apart from the fact that they can use a particular driver if they wish
Thought so. Thanks. Maybe I wasn't as refreshed as I thought.
Must try harder.
;-)
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Friend of mine runs a minicab company in South London which he set up in the 60 's .He now reckons he is losing £1500 a week in business to Uber......he has also lost several drivers to them.
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I've only used Uber once, with some colleagues in Wroclaw, Poland. Four of us, all north of 6' crammed into a little Skoda Fabia with the driver making 5. It wasn't comfortable, but it was a lot cheaper than the E-class Merc taxi alternative.
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I began using them on my last trip to the States. I found it works fantastically well and saved me lots of $$. The airports which I used would not allow Uber to pick up, but they can drop off there...easily circumnavigated by getting local knowledge online beforehand ie shuttle bus to a certain drop off point or similar.
My US friends use Uber in the big cities
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"It wasn't comfortable, but it was a lot cheaper than the E-class Merc taxi alternative."
Blimey! How skint were you? Last time I used a taxi in Wrocław (last year) it seemed dirt-cheap.
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>> We were in a boozer a few
>> weeks ago in Chiswick, needing to get to Twickenham mid-evening.............
>> confirmed destination. Sussex Arms pub.
>>
Thread drift alert.
What did you think of The Sussex Arms? I think it's over rated, I prefer The Prince Blucher, just across the road.
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I've not been in the Bluch. I go in the Sussex because my mate who lives round the corner uses it all the time and he has a loyalty card for free bevs now and again. It is a bit over-rated - my mate raves about it but hey, it's just a pub. He's from Swansea though so it's like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon/Caversham Court Gardens to him. Food's quite all right. The Naked Ladies in there - always spot on, top quality - goes down a treat.
I'll see if I can get him to go in the Bluch next time I'm in the hood for a looksee.
I like The White Swan best, personally. Specially when the tide rises and inattentive drunks get stranded in the garden. Not like I've ever done that, oh no.
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Try listening to London radio stations, every time Uber is brought it's bombarded with black cab drivers slagging it off (saying the drivers are unchecked, possible criminals) seems like TfL are not overly happy with them either.
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>> Try listening to London radio stations, every time Uber is brought it's bombarded with black
>> cab drivers slagging it off
Yeah, you can never get a black cab they are all on radio stations. LBC and radio london mainly
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Certainly in the provinces Uber drivers and cars are subject to the same checks as private gire cars are. I have to say as an irregular user of private hire or taxis these days, the ones I observe around here need to sort their act out. Lots of them look like rent a slob scarecrows. Although I do know one quite well, who is decent bloke fallen on hard times.
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One of the tips I gave my son as a new driver was to be very aware of any car in our area that has a round luminous green sticker in the rear window, these are private cars for hire and while looking like regular cars (no livery or adverts on them) will take any shortcut (legal or not) to get where they are going ASAP.
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>> Uber recently applied to Reading Borough Council to operate here, but the regressive and authoritarian
>> Labour council knocked them back, making some spectacularly laughable, out-of-touch comments (about disapproving of people
>> using smartphones) in Committee when the proposal was discussed, and dismissed it out of hand.
Just remembered - I sit next to the wife of one of the Reading councillors at the band I play in. I'd be happy to pass on your comments :)
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Please do. It's not Jones, is it? Or worse, Page?
I've had words with both of those. Ennis is on my list, too.
www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/reading-rejects-uber-online-cabs-11012684
"Cllr Marian Livingston questioned Mr Elvidge’s claim there was a demand because 20,000 people in the Reading area had already downloaded the app.
She suggested Uber might just be “trawled by phone app junkies who if they don’t have their phone in their hand they think they have had an amputationâ€."
Dinosaurs.
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He's the 'Lead Councillor for Culture, Sport and Consumer Services' - does the latter include taxis?
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Dunno, but I'd guess taxis come under Transport (Page - the lead cllr for transport who does not have a driving licence).
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Uber In The UK - Shiny
