Chit Chat
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Today is the day the black taxis are going to gridlock Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Parliament Square.
The streets of half a dozen European capitals will be jammed by strikes on Wednesday, as licensed cabbies in Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Milan and Lisbon join their London colleagues in demonstrating against a technology that threatens their livelihood.
Who's going to win?
You have to have some sympathy for them, having been through "The knowledge"
On the other hand they are very expensive and competition always leads to better prices for the customers.
The streets of half a dozen European capitals will be jammed by strikes on Wednesday, as licensed cabbies in Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Milan and Lisbon join their London colleagues in demonstrating against a technology that threatens their livelihood.
Who's going to win?
You have to have some sympathy for them, having been through "The knowledge"
On the other hand they are very expensive and competition always leads to better prices for the customers.
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They're up in arms because their cosy club is about to be destroyed. Yes, they've done the knowledge, but we live in a world where technology is advancing faster than ever before. If they've got any sense the hackney boys will adopt the new technology, because it's not going away.
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I blame the residents of Newham and Tower Hamlets.
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What for?
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The poor old cabbies lovely unchallenged little earner will hopefully be reformed at last.
Still, a few of them are going to be hit hard in the pocket. Think of the business from Flabbutt alone that might now be lost. |
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Black Cabbies are finished, just like the Print Unions, the dockers, etc...closed shop.....the barrow boys have no clothes
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The choice is clear:
A proper, licensed driver driving a costly, purpose built, safety tested vehicle, OR a driver just off a container ship driving any old family saloon, who maybe can't even make himself understood in English and has no idea where he's going without satnav. It's not just about cost. |
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^ the real choice is with the hackney drivers - they either embrace new technology or let it kill them off. If they had it in their cabs, costs would come done so more people would use them, simples. I'm no tory, far from it, but this is a classic situation where market forces should be seen as an opportunity to benefit all concerned.
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No sympathy with hackney drivers. Agreed its a closed shop and they have used that to rip of customers for decades
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resistance to change
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You mean the local cabbies from St Petersburg and Islamabad?
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What they appear to be protesting about is the uber app that calculates fares.
Under the laws of driving a taxi in London, only the black cabs are legally allowed to do this. What does a 2 mile trip cost in a black cab? I used a minicab firm in Colchester about 2 months ago, and it cost me £7. And two miles in Colchester is a lot less journey time than two miles in London. |
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I'll go with the one that will agree to drive me from Oxford St to Croydon at 1am, it's never been a black cab so far.
Black cab drivers doing a lot of whinging but forgetting that they, uniquely and bizarrely, are allowed to use Bus lanes. |
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meanwhile a few miles saff of colchester
a mile journey is in the region of £4 |
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I understand that the app allows you to find the nearest minicab to your location thereby fulfilling the pre booking requisite unlike the Hackney drivers.Have the drivers who sign up to uber been CRB checked and have the vehicles been subject to the same checks as black cabs?
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Black cabs will soon go the same way as the horse and cart.
Good riddance. |
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Our taximan Robin is on holidays at present.. normal service resumes from Monday.
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The prices that normal cab firms charge can vary a lot. e.g. Some near me are ca. £2 a mile 24 hours.(no meters)
Those with meters normally charge more. Many with meters also raise the rates later at night. (ca. Double the above rate)  |
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Just been reported that it's been a record day of downloads for Uber
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Deutschland, Deutschland ! Uber Alles
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, Über alles in der Welt, Wenn es stets zu Schutz und Trutze Brüderlich zusammenhält. Von der Maas bis an die Memel, Von der Etsch bis an den Belt, Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, Über alles in der Welt! :| |
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They're only upset that they've shown up for being mugs having to do the knowledge but now technology has cut a swathe through it.
I can imagine such arguments were had the motor car started to take over from the horse and cart. |
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Poor old cabbies, wont be able to earn over 100k a year from now on.
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Wesdag
12 Jun 14 18:52 They're only upset that they've shown up for being mugs having to do the knowledge but now technology has cut a swathe through it. They did the knowledge to get the badge or badges (you need 2 badges in London) No badge, no black cab. How did that make them mugs? |
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They're mugs because if they were to start out now, I'm sure they can't deny they'd just go the Uber route and not bother to spend 3 years doing the knowledge.
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Ibrahima Sonko
12 Jun 14 19:08 Joined: 03 Jun 07 | Topic/replies: 50,364 | Blogger: Ibrahima Sonko's blog Poor old cabbies, wont be able to earn over 100k a year from now on. You are joking? Yes, you have to move with times but it seems like the goalposts have been moved. I think cmat is right; the debate is about being able to calculate fares on a meter. Uber has been banned in Berlin, btw |