Uber, another company sucking money out of the UK.

Nibble · Jul 24, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFgAsUQXYAA

I'm undecided about RB but this makes many good points.

If you don't wanna watch the vid the key points are:

Owned by Google and Goldman Sachs
Sending their money away
Don't pay taxes locally or in the community
They are now raising fares as they are getting a monopoly
They charged £150 for a 4 mile journey.
They do not pay their drivers minimum wage in many cases
PR woman is Godmother to David Cameron's children and he is her children's Godfather .

And obviously they are putting our black cabbies out of work.

Uber are very convenient but are they ultimately doing the consumer more harm than good?

Fungus · Jul 24, 2015

David Cameron is a Godmother?

alfredmizen · Jul 24, 2015

Nibble said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFgAsUQXYAA

I'm undecided about RB but this makes many good points.

If you don't wanna watch the vid the key points are:

Owned by Google and Goldman Sachs
Sending their money away
Don't pay taxes locally or in the community
They are now raising fares as they are getting a monopoly
They charged £150 for a 4 mile journey.
They do not pay their drivers minimum wage in many cases
PR woman is Godmother to David Cameron's children as he is hers.

And obviously they are putting our black cabbies out of work.

100% correct, i support the black cabbies, and as im sure you can guess, i despise russell brand.

Arthur · Jul 24, 2015

I got an Uber last night, was waiting for me when I came out of the tube, dropped me home and cost a fiver.

Great service. Have had a couple of bad ones (not knowing where London Bridge station is!!) but on the whole it's a brilliant service. I can understand why the cabbies don't like it because they can undercut them massively but from a consumers point of view it's great.

I used to work for the company that owns the New Statesman and Russell Brand was a regular in the office. I can confirm he is as much of a bellend in real life as he portrays himself to be. Does have a strange effect on women though so fair play to him.

Nibble · Jul 24, 2015

It's not really a thread about Brand but I take your point.

Yes, for the moment they undercut cabbies but I think they are already putting their prices up so that won't last. What do people think about them sending their profits off-shore and denying the UK it's taxes? It isn't really very good for consumers if they don't pay their tax.

Dick Knights Mumm · Jul 24, 2015

Arthur said:
Does have a strange effect on women though so fair play to him.

It is both a blessing and a curse.

Nibble · Jul 24, 2015

What do people think of the Google aspect? I know quite a few of the more important tech companies and e-platform companies in the city are trying to de-google themselves and trying to stop doing business with them. Simply down to the insidious way google are gather consumer information and the monopoly they are trying to create in many varied markets. It's very hard to get shot of google from a tech company though.

jgmcdee · Jul 24, 2015

Nibble said:
What do people think of the Google aspect? I know quite a few of the more important tech companies and e-platform companies in the city are trying to de-google themselves and trying to stop doing business with them. Simply down to the insidious way google are gather consumer information and the monopoly they are trying to create in many varied markets. It's very hard to get shot of google from a tech company though.

I think there is a big difference between being part-funded by Google Ventures and using Google's technology in your products.

Nibble · Jul 24, 2015

jgmcdee said:
I think there is a big difference between being part-funded by Google Ventures and using Google's technology in your products.

Yes there is. I wasn't claiming otherwise.

jgmcdee · Jul 24, 2015

Nibble said:
Yes there is. I wasn't claiming otherwise.

In which case I am confused as to what the "Google aspect" is. What Google technology does Uber use?

Arthur · Jul 24, 2015

Nibble said:
It's not really a thread about Brand but I take your point.

I know. Was just sharing my opinion of the fella seeing as you chose to share his on Uber.

Nibble said:
Yes, for the moment they undercut cabbies but I think they are already putting their prices up so that won't last. What do people think about them sending their profits off-shore and denying the UK it's taxes? It isn't really very good for consumers if they don't pay their tax.

As soon as they put their prices up people will stop using them. Using myself as a prime example whenever the app tells me the fare is anything above flat rate then I don't bother. The majority of cabs I get are in the centre of town where it's still a lot easier to get a black cab. However they are pretty much twice as much as a Uber (black cab from my office to London Bridge is £15. Uber flat rate is £8).

I for one will look forward to them coming to Brighton if they do because Brighton cabs are astronomical what they can get away with charging.

beorhthelm · Jul 24, 2015

dont care for Uber, but have to highlight that this part shows a flagrant ignorance of the business:

They are now raising fares as they are getting a monopoly
They charged £150 for a 4 mile journey.
They do not pay their drivers minimum wage in many cases

they are self employed, not even nearly a monopoly and charges are based on real time demand/availability of drivers.

now the interesting angle to this subject is the question, are those against Uber against the employment opportunity they provide and the (normal) cost savings to the public?

Nibble · Jul 24, 2015

jgmcdee said:
In which case I am confused as to what the "Google aspect" is. What Google technology does Uber use?

No one is inferring they do use Google tech, although they may well do, I don't know. I was saying they are part funded by Google. I then went on to say that some tech firms are consciously trying to not do business with Google, be it using their tech or engaging with their non-tech platforms.

Guinness Boy · Jul 24, 2015

Arthur said:
I know. Was just sharing my opinion of the fella seeing as you chose to share his on Uber.

As soon as they put their prices up people will stop using them. Using myself as a prime example whenever the app tells me the fare is anything above flat rate then I don't bother. The majority of cabs I get are in the centre of town where it's still a lot easier to get a black cab. However they are pretty much twice as much as a Uber (black cab from my office to London Bridge is £15. Uber flat rate is £8).

I for one will look forward to them coming to Brighton if they do because Brighton cabs are astronomical what they can get away with charging.

It's a difficult one for me. Black cabs are as much a part of traditional London life as yellow cabs in New York. The drivers invest serious time in The Knowledge and a good one brings more value to the city in terms of tourism income. It's one of the traditional London jobs that's under pressure from the new economy and one I'd hate to see disappear. I don't have an Uber app despite being in London quite regularly and would prefer to use a black cab.

That said the post quoted above by Arthur is absolutely correct. Brighton cabs are shocking. They take the absolute piss prices wise and all of the new ones don't know where they are going. I've had cabbies fail to find Norfolk Rd using a sat nav and one ask me where Portslade is and the prices are now scandalous. If Uber ever did Brighton I'd install it straight away in the hope of getting a very similar service for less.

However, the real place I have an issue with Uber is what they have done to the global economy. They are the epitome of zero hours contract employers and are moving more and more semi-skilled workers in to being freelancers rather than having a known salary and pension. While this is good for liquidity of labour it risks a real detrimental effect on consumer spending and things like the housing and Pensions market. And the C***ts pay no tax.

Westdene Seagull · Jul 24, 2015

Nibble said:
Owned by Google and Goldman Sachs
Sending their money away
Don't pay taxes locally or in the community
They are now raising fares as they are getting a monopoly
They charged £150 for a 4 mile journey.
They do not pay their drivers minimum wage in many cases
PR woman is Godmother to David Cameron's children and he is her children's Godfather .

I'm certainly not going to watch a video with RB in !!!

Sending their money away - I assume you mean they pay no or little CT which I agree, using the loopholes to achieve this should be stopped
Don't pay taxes locally or in the community - well their drivers will be though
They are now raising fares as they are getting a monopoly - I'm not sure how it's a monopoly when there are 21,000 black cabs competing with them
They charged £150 for a 4 mile journey. - you know the charge before you step into the cab so the problem is what exactly ?
They do not pay their drivers minimum wage in many cases - how exactly does that work ? The minimum wage is law so how do they get round that ?
PR woman is Godmother to David Cameron's children and he is her children's Godfather - and ? So what ? Would it matter if she was the Godmother to say Blair's children ? Or is this just another Tory bash from you ?

All in all IMHO Uber is a good thing. Black cabs are excessively expensive and anything that produces real competition is a good thing. Can't wait to try it when it comes to Brighton ( another city with stupidly priced cabs ).

Nibble · Jul 24, 2015

beorhthelm said:
dont care for Uber, but have to highlight that this part shows a flagrant ignorance of the business:

they are self employed, not even nearly a monopoly and charges are based on real time demand/availability of drivers.

now the interesting angle to this subject is the question, are those against Uber against the employment opportunity they provide and the (normal) cost savings to the public?

They may not be a monopoly in London yet but they are in many towns across the globe.

They charged £150 because of the Tube strike. Now, of course this cost reflects severe demand. I believe they also charged through the roof when people wanted to leave the centre of Sydney after those coffee shop bombings a while back. I suppose that will be swings and roundabouts, save here, over charge there.

Yes, perhaps I put it badly, they do not guarantee a driver minimum which I suppose no self employed worker is. I don't think they'll be being presented any investment in people awards.

And yes, Brighton cabs are way overpriced and the new foreign drivers are shit.

TWOCHOICEStom · Jul 24, 2015

Good point about the money staying in the economy. Can't really argue with that.

I totally understand how hard it is for good, honest, hard working taxi drivers to make a living. It's hard for everyone. I'd be pissed off if my industry suddenly turned on it's head and I began losing custom to some new kid on the block.

But the sad fact is that driving a taxi in 2015 need not be about skill or knowledge. I could fly to a city I've never been to in my life, grab myself an iPhone, buy an Audi and start working as an Uber driver. That's tragic really. But the technology has rendered knowledge of city streets far less valuable that it was 10 years ago.

Taxi drivers have to compete for the first time since forever. People will choose them if they feel they're getting a good deal. Right now, they're horrendously over priced in London and people seem to love the fixed price model of Uber. You know exactly how much it's going to cost you before you choose to order the taxi and you don't have to stop at a bloody cashpoint on the way. It's just easier.

Rightly or wrongly, most people couldn't give a shit who pays tax where, how the livelihood of the drivers has been affected or what's best for the local economy. Most people want to get from a to b for as little money and hassle as possible. Right now, Uber is winning on both of those fronts in a lot of cases.

jgmcdee · Jul 24, 2015

Nibble said:
No one is inferring they do use Google tech, although they may well do, I don't know. I was saying they are part funded by Google. I then went on to say that some tech firms are consciously trying to not do business with Google, be it using their tech or engaging with their non-tech platforms.

Google Ventures is a pretty bog-standard VC, so I don't see Uber taking money from them as opposed to KKR or Index or whoever as anything worth a conversation unless you want a general "is google evil?" discussion.

As to Uber itself: they're decent when you're local (and their recent price rises were for the top-end services only) but really shine when you're somewhere you don't know. I was in Paris a couple of weeks back and Uber was fantastic for us then: didn't have to hunt down taxi ranks and had a map of where we were going right on the 'phone so no concerns about being ripped off by being taken the scenic route. All the drivers I spoke to seemed very happy with Uber in terms of both the money they were being paid and the flexibility of their working time.

The only downside I can see to the company is that it's spawned the word "uberisation".

Jim D · Jul 24, 2015

Westdene Seagull said:
Can't wait to try it when it comes to Brighton ( another city with stupidly priced cabs ).

I wouldn't hold your breath as this is the same city that got the Tuk-Tuks taken off the streets.

Nibble · Jul 24, 2015

I don't deny Uber are a great convenience. I understand that people want the cheapest option available. My only question is, is it ultimately good for the UK. I don't know. They have good sides and bad sides.

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