Dutch Transport Inspectorate raid Uber's Amsterdam office The Dutch Transport Inspectorate is carrying out raids on Uber's Amsterdam office as it investigates allegations that the ride-sharing company is continuing to operate its banned uberPOP service. Reuters quoted a company spokeperson saying that the raids followed signs that Uber had continued to offer the service. In a …
"We're breaking the law and they're trying to stop us from doing that. Not fair. Boohoo."
Their modus operandi. Break the law, complain, expect the law to be rewritten...because it's us, after all. We deserve it.
The "Me" Generation, enshrined in a phone app. Who knew?!
"Legitimate" Amsterdam taxi drivers are few and far between. Most are not the type I would want driving me around. (The case is actually that most Amsterdam taxi drivers with a taxi license are pretty much heavy criminals in their own right, not afraid to use violence and intimidation even on other legal taxi license holders)
" How does it work in the UK? I try to avoid death as much as possible..."
Well round my way there's a steep sided valley, with a 30 mph road down one side up the other. Last time I caught a licensed taxi (driven by somebody who didn't appear to have learned to drive according to the British Highway Code), the taxi was just short of 80 mph down and up, in a car that appeared to be shared between multiple drivers "because working less then 16 hours a week doesn't affect benefits". It was like being in the back seat of a Stuka, without the fun of an MG15 to use on dog walkers and garden gnomes.
Obviously things differ for those who might be at risk of exploitation and abuse, but for grizzled types like me, I fail to see how Uber can be much worse than the scabarous offerings of the UK's comically uncontrolled "licensed" taxi operation. Last time I was in Germany, I caught a taxi to the airport, and was chauffeured in a new Merc S class with leather seats. In most of the UK you're lucky to get a vomit-scented 2004 Skoda Octavia.
Germany, and AFAIK the Netherlands, doesn't differentiate between public taxis and private hire vehicles: they're all licensed under the same rules. Surprisingly I find it doesn't make journeys significantly more expensive in Germany. Though I haven't used a taxi here since the new national wage was introduced. There have been grumblings about this and it might affect availability in some places but casual labour is not a way to improve standards.
Like lots of OTT services Uber doesn't really make long term sense because it adds little or no value. It seems to make sense in the US because the markets there are dysfunctional.
"Nowt wrong with the Skoda octavia mate"
I'd agree - used to have one myself. But a ten year old, fifth hand one, stinking of bodily fluids, with shagged out seats, suspension and fittings, driven by a part time, non-owner driver is still no transport of delight.
I'd be happy to see UK taxi fares doubled if they'd actually mandate the use of large, modern, clean cars driven by careful, competent drivers who are clever enough to wash, and happy to keep their opinions to themselves.
I know someone who went over to Uber and he says it's the best thing he ever did.
You have to have a licensed taxi, insurance, CRB check (or whatever they call it now).
They give you a locked-down iPhone 4S for picking up jobs and monitoring the current price (which fluctuates with demand to encourages drivers to sign on or off with changes in demand).
The user pays Uber up-front so no cash, no getting robbed, no arguments over the bill.
The driver can take whatever jobs they like, when they like and the user can track the taxi approaching, get details of the car and driver on their phone so they know it is genuine when it arrives.
The issues in this story seems to be extra services Uber has started offering such as unlicensed taxis and drivers touted as car-sharing.
No, that app allows Uber to run an unsantioned commercial taxi service. It might be contrued as "ride-sharing" if it were used by people to find others who happened to be going the same way so they could share the costs of the trip.
Much as the current licensing regimes for most industries being invaded by the "sharing economy" need to be reformed, they exist (or, at least, existed at one time) for good reasons, in many cases related to health and safety. It should not be up to the likes of Uber and Airbnb to just rip up the rulebooks because they're not convenient to the "sharing" business model.
@Vector.
Yep.
Uber touting this 'sharing economy' idea but what they - and their drivers - supply is not 'sharing'.
'Sharing Economy' - though I dislike the term - is about renting things you own but aren't using and the time - your home when your out, your clothes when you're not wearing them. That kind of thing.
For cars, that involves - surprise - renting your car when you're not using it. And there are services for that; in Australia we have one called "Car Next Door" but I know there are others. That allows someone to drive your car when you're not using it an pay you for that.
The crucial difference between that and Uber is that with Uber you are not renting a car, you are employing the services of a DRIVER, who uses his own car to drive you somewhere.
Again: you aren't renting a car, you are renting the services of a driver.
That driver is operating a commercial driving service that, depending on location, may require certain licensing and insurance and registration. If an Uber driver does not have this, they are breaking the law.
Uber is no more 'ride sharing' than buying a hamburger from your local joint is you 'sharing' the kitchen with the other patrons.
I like not being murdered by psychos who can register themselves on some weird app as a faux taxi driver. That's why I like licences for taxi drivers, as they provide at least some guarantee that you've not been picked up by some random serial killer.
I can understand Uber being an aggregator for taxis, like booking.com is for hotels. But a service like UberPOP? I'm not sure why anyone who isn't massively suicidal would use it...
You're misunderstanding the disruptive business model because you're so 20th century - these days business moves //faster// than the speed of though. We're also getting into the illegal mining and child labour sectors 'cos they're ripe for disruptive business models too. First though, prostitution and coke dealing...
"That's why I like licences for taxi drivers, as they provide at least some guarantee that you've not been picked up by some random serial killer."
you may want to search for "killed by a taxi driver".
All a CRB check does is say you haven't killed anyone so far or worse, you have killed several people, but you've got away with it.
You may want to check the number of licensed taxi and hackney cab drivers who are / have serving time for murder and rape of passengers, it'll surprise you.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7931975.stm
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/cardiff-taxi-driver-mohammed-ali-7107077
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4985741/Black-cab-driver-John-Worboys-found-guilty-of-rape.html
I find it mystifying that the fine had a maximum... a €10,000 per incident with a max of €100,000 which they've met. Most places make the maximum open-ended. So they've paid the fine maximum and there's no more disincentive.
I think most of us would love such a deal.. say for speeding. Hit the lifetime maximum and then not worry about it.
Now that the Uber offices are raided there's a good chance that the local Uber bosses are heading for more fines (even personal) if they're found to be in contempt of the earlier court order.
Is that 100k the maximum permitted by Dutch law perhaps?
This is all going to go pear shaped when there is a serious crash involving an Ubermobile and the driver does not have adequarte insurance.
Most insurance companies would have issues with people using private vehicles for business purposes and even want you to declare you're carpooling (due to the percieved increased risk of carrying mre passengers).
Providing public transport is a few steps above that, which is why taxis end up paying massive premiums.
So when an Ubercrash happens there's going to be some massive fallout - vehicles not covered, houses being conviscated...
they have $1,000,000 per driver here in the USA. I know this because they sent email saying so, this is it:
--cut here--
Uber
>From before the start of your trip until after it's finished, safety is built into every step of the Uber experience. Look under the hood and see how.
BEFORE YOU RIDE
BACKGROUND CHECKS
Drivers pass federal, multi-state, and county background checks before driving.
Extensive Screening
Uber prohibits drug or alcohol offenses, severe traffic violations, and sexual offenses.
Insurance
>From pick up to drop off, your ride is covered by a $1M commercial insurance policy.
REQUEST A RIDE
Safe Pickups
The app pinpoints your location so you can request a ride from anywhere and wait safely.
Nobody's A Stranger
Your driver's name, photo, and vehicle information appear in the app.
Disguised Phone Numbers
Communication between riders and drivers is anonymized to protect private phone numbers.
DURING YOUR TRIP
Always On The Map
The GPS-enabled map provides your driver's location and trip details in real-time.
Share My ETA
Share your ETA with friends and family to keep track of your ride and safe arrival.
Hassle-Free Payments
Your credit card is on file so you never need to carry cash or stop at an ATM.
AFTER YOU RIDE
Actionable Feedback
You rate your experience after every trip and drivers do the same.
Trip History
After each ride, you receive a detailed email receipt with trip route, driver name, and total fare.
--cut here--
P.
Most insurance policies I've ever held clearly state that you cannot use the car "for hire". I would guess any insurance company, if they found out you'd operated as an Uber driver would immediately declare your policy as void, regardless of whether you were driving for Uber at the time of any accident.
If you have no valid insurance policy, you are breaking the law, and can be arrested. You will also have no insurance to pay for any damage to your own, and other vehicles. If there's any injury, prepare yourself for one hell of a bill.
Uber may (or may not) cover you for the journeys you make for them, but, you won't be covered for all other journeys.
Here in the UK, isn't the minimum cover a business has to have for Public Liability Insurance in the order of £5m?
So stuff your measly $1m.
Yep, one answer is to include criminal liability for all Company Directors AND Public Body "Executives and Senior Managers". You get well paid to manage? You're responsible when it goes wrong.
@Phil Dude - That that is for the normal service though. The bit at issue I believe is UberPop which, as long as I'm understanding it correctly, means that basically anyone can sign up to drive whenever - rather than the model you're referring to.
Personally I couldn't care less either way, if I am not driving myself, I'll have my driver collect me. No reason to mix it up with the riff-raff in a taxi.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/27/uber-sued-family-six-year-old-killed-crash-san-francisco
http://www.london24.com/news/uber_car_hits_cyclist_in_road_rage_accident_1_3822121
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/27656550/accident-leaves-houston-uber-driver-with-regrets
Only one person killed as far as I could make out (though I don't know, is Lyft the same thing? I found more accidents for them) but the others were near misses.
That's 1 page of google results.
The moral of the story, ride motorbikes, they're much safer. Nobody has died in a motorcycle accident for over 10 years!
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