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Pressure From Uber Forces London Taxis To Finally Accept Cards (thestack.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Following a public consultation that compared the service unfavorably with Uber, London's 21,000 black cabs will finally accept card payment from October of 2016, with a possible option to pay via PayPal. London Mayor Boris Johnson continues to support and defend the legendarily expensive and iconic taxi service, saying 'This move will boost business for cabbies and bring the trade into the 21st century by enabling quicker and more convenient journeys for customers'. Most Londoners feel that the move should have been made in the 1980s, and the consultation report indicates that Uber's increasing share of London fares has forced the innovation.
Okay, this is starting to get a bit ridiculous. Can we please stop with all the articles vaguely related to Uber that have zero tech interest.
This is a site for techies, not taxi enthusiasts.
Ever had a cab driver who had no idea of where they were going but relied on a GPS?
They end up taking the stupidest possible routes because they have no idea of where they're going. I once had a cab driver who ended up taking what seemed like the most ass-backwards route because he knew less about the city than I did.
Sometimes, GPS routes are utterly ridiculous.
I don't want to pay some clown a bunch of extra money because he got stuck in traffic or took a longer route because he had no idea where he was going.
Some bumbling idiot with no idea of where he's going and hopes the GPS will get him there ... sorry, I'm not paying for that experience. I've seen how that can turn out.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Ever had a cab driver who had no idea of where they were going but relied on a GPS?
I've had cab drivers who claimed to know where they were doing and then did much worse than a GPS. Granted, they didn't have a fancy-pants test to make sure that they would do better. The thing is that network connected GPS gets better when more people use it, but a person is always just a person. They can get better by studying... or connecting themselves to additional tools, like GPS.
Sometimes, GPS routes are utterly ridiculous.
I don't want to pay some clown a bunch of extra money because he got stuck in traffic or took a longer route because he had no idea where he was going.
Right, but that's the merit of realtime, network-connected routing. The more people use it, the better it works. It gets more data back, so it can make more accurate estimations and send you down more efficient routes. If you know a shortcut, and you can outdo the GPS, then by all means take that route while using GPS navigation and let the network learn from you instead of complaining about how bad it is!
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Hi All,
Rare post from me, but this is close to my heart, being a long term (South) London resident. So... fuck the black cabs, really, they are truly shit in comparison to Uber. It's not just the card payment issue, it's the attitude you get from most of the drivers. They're not really interested in providing a cab service for London. They want to take bankers and tourists on short journeys around central London, and drive people to the airport and back. It can be difficult to find a black cab that will take you any distance "south of the river", so much so, it's even a cultural catch phrase here "Sorry gov, I ain't going south of the river".
Then, even when you get one, they really do cost. An Uber from central London to my place is about half the cost of a black cab. They're also not that comfortable a ride. Bumpy and cold usually. The only plus point is that they do take 5 passengers as standard, so there is that, minor, minor point....
Now, due to the black cabs being over priced, and really a bit shit, in true British fashion, rather than face actually making some kind of meaningful change to the system, a fudge has been added. Something called a "mini cab", or more accurately a "private hire vehicle". This is a just a car, no taxi meter, that you can hire to take you from A to B for a fixed price, but you can't hail it on the street, you have to call for one, or go to a pick up location. These vary wildly, from a professional, almost Uber like service such as Addison Lee, mentioned in a previous post, to a banged up, probably non street legal piece of crap driven by someone who looks like they've been awake 72 hours. Often they tout for business on the street (illegally) and, factoring in how late it is/cold the weather/drunk you are, a price is agreed... then often later disputed.
Anyway, mini cabs are licenced to operate as they do, although there are some totally illegal ones running around. The point is, black cabs never really served their purpose, so the mini cab system just kind of evolved into the cracks. It's the only type of cab most Londoners would have ever considered using.
Now we have Uber. Clean new cars, professional drivers, cheap, payments sorted in advance, phone app, the works. It's heaven. Actually, I find it interesting, all the US commenters on here talking about Uber being less professional, and operating illegally. The situation is totally different here. It is a superior cab ride in every way, and they are licenced private hire vehicles, so it's all legal. The black cab industry is trying to say that the Uber app on the drivers phone is effectively a taxi meter, and allows what is effectively street hailing, not sure how that is going, is there a court case?
Anyway, just wanted to get it off my chest. I will be so fucked off if a great service is killed, simply to protect a highly dysfunctional industry that has previously felt no pressure at all to improve their level of customer service. We all hate them anyway. This is an almost perfect "buggy whip manufacturer" situation, please let the black cab just die.
Phew....
p.s. I did see a protest by black cab drivers, about Uber, in central London recently, trying in vain to whip up some public support... they're delusional.
Who's with me?! I SAID... WHO'S WITH ME!!??
London cabs don't accept credit cards?!?!
Most black cabs already do. Addison Lee has had an app with driver tracking, credit card payments and so on for years. This is kind of massively not news.
I took a cab at one point late last year when Uber didn't work on my phone. The driver pretended his credit card reader wouldn't work in the hope of getting me to pay cash.
This is, incidentally, the kind of shit that makes people hate cabs.