Slashdot Mirror
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.
I work for the cab company/government so I'm going to spread FUD around instead of writing unpleasant facts.
Why would you tip someone that is going out of their way to give you bad service?
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
Well, that's easy to fix - Include the 5% fee in the credit card transaction, but not in any cash transaction.
That is a violation of the CC company rules. If you charge extra for CCs, then they will revoke your merchant card account. There are a few exceptions for this rule, such as gas stations, which are allowed to charge a fee. But I doubt if they will allow it for taxis.
An easier fix is to say you don't have any cash, but if they are willing to drive you to an ATM with the meter off, you can pay them. Suddenly the CC swiper will work.
As a techie I find it absolutely amazing that there is a taxi company that didn't accept credit cards. I agree the Uber angle doesn't warrant being mentioned here, but the article has merrit even without that.
Tip? At what arbitrary point do we decide to tip and who do we tip? Is it too much to ask that people can make a living doing work without having to rely in the generous heart of those people who they are serving?
I hardly ever use black cabs and I've never used uber but these are some things I'd think black cabs would win on:
1. They can use bus lanes.
2. They can stop on red routes to pick up and drop off. (I suspect that an uber car will do this too but it's technically not allowed and, if you're unlucky, your car will get waved on before you can get in or get out)
3. Black cabs can get to places that a mini-cab can't (mostly due to 1)
4. Black cab drivers have to know the city and their way around central London. This is particularly valuable if you're a) new to the city and might not know the old/new/official/unofficial name of your destination. An uber driver might know, a black cab driver will know and b) when the traffic totally snarls up which it does, the driver will know if this is normal and still the best route or it's abnormal and they should try another route instead.
I think it will be a shame if Uber causes black cabs to become extinct. I'm not sure that the black cab is that expensive (relative to minicabs) but I suspect sticking to the black cab regulations (turning circle, wheelchair access etc) probably put the cars at a significant disadvantage.
(I'm not sure how uber gets around the disabled access regulations. Does it guarantee a certain proportion of it's cars will be disabled accessible? Can you request a car suitable for a wheelchair?)
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = -@B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t," and there was light.
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!!??
Either
1) the test has value and the driver's can remain a premium service, maybe even get added to uber like cabs in San fransisco
2) the knowledge is not if value and should be ditched.
I hear a lot of cab advocates trying to have it both ways. "it's no fair, our service is so much better because of the specific cars and the test, but uber drivers don't". If the service was so much better, there wouldn't be an issue, it's been a while since I was in London, but in northern Delaware, Philadelphia, and NYC, uber is far better than the cab companies. Probably because they know pulling bullshit will get them a low review and out of the service. In my location, I'd pay a 10% premium to use uber over cabs.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
"I drive a black cab in London, so I'm really getting a kick out of some of these replies."
Cool. I use black cabs in London - the same for the replies.
"Some of you guys are very good at making it sound like you know what you are talking about. But trust me.... You don't."
I do, in fact, know exactly what it's like to use a black cab in London. Because I do, and have been doing so for more than eighteen years. You will be right in that I don't know the ins and outs of the industry, but I don't need to - I only need to say what it's like as a user. Most of the time I'm happy, but the card thing is definitely my experience and is truly irritating. I always ask up front, and the vast majority of the time I'm told the card reader is broken and that they'll drive to a cash point.
"I think you just want to make yourself sound smart, when in reality you don't know what you are talking about. This is how bad info gets passed around. If you dont know about the topic....Don't make yourself sound like you do."
I read the article. It said "...come into force from April of 2016 and by October all black cab drivers will need to have complied with the directive, which mandates the new payment methods.". Hence the comment "The difference seems to be making it mandatory". Still seems reasonably grounded as a suggestion to me, and you've not made a different one.
This is primarily a discussion board. If you know more, now's the time to post it and then your point of view is added to the discussion. Would be good to get that point of view in fact. Meanwhile, since it hasn't been added, what I have to go on is the article itself and my years of experience using cabs of all types in London.
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.
And the taxis I see are 15 year[s] old
Unadulterated bullshit. I drove taxis for 3yrs, the oldest one I drove was 5yo, it had 1.2 MILLION kilometres on the clock.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Where I am from, you cant drive a cab without a working card reader. City and County ordinance. If at the end of the ride they pull a card not working trick, I just say "too bad, thanks for the ride" and walk out. They can call the cops all day.