Glossary:
1. Black taxies are a type of London taxi.
2. Uber is not a misprint for über.
From The Guardian, May 17:
…Next month, London’s black taxi drivers are planning a mass protest in the capital against Californian technology company Uber, which is leading the changes in the way people hail cabs. Uber – like several other entrants to the lucrative cab business – allows people to use an application on their phones to see where the closest car is to them and then book it after agreeing to a set fare, which is paid by credit card. No cash changes hands, and Uber even discourages passengers from tipping their drivers.
The encroachment of smartphone technology on the capital’s taxi operations is being looked at by the licensing authority, Transport for London. In a statement, it said: “We’ve seen no evidence to suggest that Uber London Ltd are not fit and proper to hold a London private hire operators’ licence, but no final decisions have been made while Uber’s operating model is still under investigation.”
Taxis and minicabs are regulated differently in London. Black cabs, allowed to use bus lanes and to pick up passengers who hail them in the street, are more tightly regulated and their fares are metered. Minicab drivers work under a lighter touch and have fewer privileges, but still must be licensed and registered.
The new cabs being “facilitated” by Uber – which says it is not a cab firm but an enabling “platform” – are, according to the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, being allowed to straddle both while only meeting the licensing criteria for minicabs: they are classified as a minicab service but can use a charging system more like metering, even though there isn’t a meter inside the car….
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London’s black cabs are incredibly expensive. The Internet will do them in. On a related issue, I see there was a ruling in France that a man invalidated his (rent controlled) lease by renting his Paris apartment on Airbnb.
London taxi drivers and Paris’s landlords trying to hold back the tide. Anyone want to buy a travel agency?
New York state has been going after Air B&B (or maybe it’s NY City) - and put yourself in the position of the person with an apartment next door to one being rented through Air B&B - suddenly you’ve got scores if not hundreds of strangers walking past your door every year, when you used to know your neighbours (or at least recognize them to see them). Risk, noise, confusion… not convenient. And hotels need licences for a reason that may apply to short-stay flats.
That said, it’s very convenient. As is Uber, which I have seen at work in Denver - very fast and comfortable.