Calling All Uber Drivers...

[Deleted member]

You make a lot of sense, I too have had appalling rides with Taxi drivers, dirty and uncomfortable cars, poor driving skills, a poor grasp of English also makes for a poor start, then there is the latest craze where the cabbie "Pumps" the accelerator.
if cabbies were rated, I suspect there would initially be very few about before numbers and attitude picked up.

I was a night cabbie for five years. Uber is a better experience for both driver and passenger. I know the first because I've tried both, having been Uber driving for over a year now. It's a pleasure, not a stress.

The second because the passengers tell me.

Self-driving cars are being tested on public roads right now. In the USA, you can get a self-driving Uber right from the app. The enormous economic, environmental, and efficiency advantages will sell all parties. Except for taxidrivers, I suppose. The average joe might not be able to understand how the system works, but the average joe doesn't understand how mobile phones work either. People will vote with their feet and their wallets.

Uber has immediate access to data. Global, national, state, city, driver. They know exactly what's going on, because they are getting a constant flow of data from the passenger's phone and the driver's phone. Every ride is rated by the passenger, the pax are rated by the driver. The Uber staff are plugged in. One chap I saw had velcro patches on his trousers so he could work on his laptop standing up. You can't ring Uber up, but you can communicate from the app, and they are responsive to any irregularities.

The taxi industry has nothing like this. They are slow, have outdated, inconsistent systems; they can't respond effectively. In states where Uber is legal, the same rules apply to all - cars are roadworthy, drivers are legal.

Now, I don't know about you, but I've had plenty of taxi rides where the driver has been driving an unsafe car, has been tired and unsafe, has had a dirty car, has been slovenly or smelly, has ripped me off, has been incompetent or rude, or has broken road and industry rules. The effort of identifying the car and driver, and contacting someone who could do something about it keeps most passengers from lodging a complaint. With Uber, it's right there on your app at the end of the ride. You are prompted to do it.

Inadequate drivers don't last in Uber because they are rated down and get kicked off.

 

[Hvr]

And now the taxi industry is putting unlicensed 'taxi' on the road in Victoria.

....booking service 13CABS confirmed that six private-hire taxis were operating on the Mornington Peninsula. The cabs are owned and run by taxi operators in the region, with 13CABS dispatching jobs to them.

Fairfax Media has been told such fleets are operating in other states, including NSW and South Australia.

Basically private cars with taxi decals on the side and a light on the roof. No safety equipment such as cameras or driver checking.

I reckon this will end in tears when a woman books through 13CABS and is assaulted by the car driver and the taxi industry says 'not us'.

While taxi driver training is poor at the moment this models says no training or standards required.

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

And now the taxi industry is putting unlicensed 'taxi' on the road in Victoria.


Basically private cars with taxi decals on the side and a light on the roof. No safety equipment such as cameras or driver checking.

I reckon this will end in tears when a woman books through 13CABS and is assaulted by the car driver and the taxi industry says 'not us'.

While taxi driver training is poor at the moment this models says no training or standards required.

That may be so, however Uber know who each driver is, so any issue would be easily identifiable. Anyone could take a seat in the unlicensed taxi driver seat.

And there's been no discernible standards or training in any licensed taxi I've taken in Sydney.

 

[Hvr]

That may be so, however Uber know who each driver is, so any issue would be easily identifiable. Anyone could take a seat in the unlicensed taxi driver seat.

And there's been no discernible standards or training in any licensed taxi I've taken in Sydney.

We're in furious agreement here, my post was meant to highlight how much taxi standards have fallen from a very low base.