Public Address | Cafe | Speaker: Confessions of an Uber Driver II: How we doing?

BenWilson

Mon, 03 Oct 2016 16:38:58 +1300

Has your day in court happened yet?

Mid November for the first dispute.

When you finally get someone to talk usually off the record the answer becomes “we have been directed from well above to leave Uber alone”.

The anonymity of whoever "well above" is will not last. These people…

goforit

Mon, 03 Oct 2016 09:17:47 +1300

Looks like you are getting the usual run a round the NZTA are very good at. Once you get pass the run a round the next reply is :"the reveiw will take care of your questions" . When you finally get someone to talk usually off the record the answer…

BenWilson

Sat, 24 Sep 2016 10:49:34 +1200

Nothing is certain about any legal challenge. We have very limited resources. I don't think the dispute is about the right to an income. It's about due process in changing terms and conditions. I don't want to go into too much more about the particular case, speculating at length about…

oga

Fri, 23 Sep 2016 07:53:33 +1200

It didn't take very long to escalate to serious assault. On a 55-year-old Uber driver, no less. It's kinda scary, this mix of ignoring local laws and legal taxi drivers willing to use violence, with the spectre of the cartels hovering in the background.

goforit

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 22:14:07 +1200

Are you sure you are puting this in front of the correct court, A Judicial Review of Uber's terms and conditions I would have thought would have been the first step, maybe you already have. Also you are drawing a long bow stating Uber drivers are entitled to a livable…

goforit

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 19:56:30 +1200

Hi Ben, I see you are mentioned in dispatches. good luck.

goforit

Wed, 21 Sep 2016 18:33:48 +1200

If one read between the lines I think the hidden message Uber is giving is, Business as usual when the bill in front of Parliament is made law.

BenWilson

Wed, 21 Sep 2016 14:42:13 +1200

Ubers intentions around this it only a way of using there non compliant drivers and as we know they are already using non compilant drivers in the commerical sector.

The guy used in the link Sacha gave above, who appeared in a televized interview in which Uber announced its amazing…

goforit

Wed, 21 Sep 2016 14:20:41 +1200

The concept of car pooling is good if it works and stays within the regulations, but when reading Ubers intentions around this it only a way of using there non compliant drivers and as we know they are already using non compilant drivers in the commerical sector.
Uber says there…

BenWilson

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 19:54:23 +1200

Under the new regs the maxium you can earn under this pooling thing with one pax on board will only be 36 cents per Km

Yup, the concept is not "earning", I think, but "saving'. So the maximum you can save from one passenger is 36c/km. With 3 passengers, presumably…

goforit

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 16:12:08 +1200

There is no time and base fee factor.

goforit

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 16:11:22 +1200

I’d guess similar economics are part of why carpooling doesn’t already trump buses. But we’ll see.

Under the new regs the maxium you can earn under this pooling thing with one pax on board will only be 36 cents per Km

goforit

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 15:13:32 +1200

True, buses operated on a fixed service route at a set time, its up to the user to meet those conditions, using cars it is just hit and miss so why bother

BenWilson

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 14:59:48 +1200

It's competing with a bus. Gut feeling is that the numbers don't stack up. Yes it would be great for the owner of the car, but none of the other passengers. They would have to charge a lot less to outcompete a bus service.

I'd guess similar economics are part…

goforit

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 14:34:32 +1200

What is being talked about is not intercity travel but travel within a city.

Rich of Observationz

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 09:26:32 +1200

If somebody wants to take a hitcher between AKL and WLG, then a cost recovery price would be: 642km * .72c / 2 = $231 – which is clearly too much to charge, it'd be cheaper to fly. If they charged $50, then if they were doing the trip anyway…

goforit

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 08:48:12 +1200

First there was Uber Cab, then Uber private hire, then Uber rideshare, now Uber pool share. Just change the name so the operation appears to fit the law.
Uber's current 2000 drivers car pool in the morning at shared cost recovery rates only, then in the late afternoon. What do…

BenWilson

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 22:42:16 +1200

I don't quite follow how the guy in the article fits into the cost recovery model, though. Presumably he was actually getting paid for the rides at the normal rate – I'm not aware of any deal that Uber offers the trip at a carpool rate yet. Otherwise the downsides…

BenWilson

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 22:00:18 +1200

Now who in the hell is going drive there car around just to recover the costs only.

People who are genuinely carpooling, I guess. I can't see an issue with this service. This one is a good thing. It's not even against the law. I don't think it actually was…

goforit

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 20:23:08 +1200

And dodgy people within the industry certainly don't help the cause. Hope the full weight of the law falls on that crowd.

goforit

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 20:03:05 +1200

Now don't we all get the feeling this bill introduced into Parliament to amend the Transport Act by Bridges is turning out to be a farce.

Sacha

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 19:06:46 +1200

Need that P endorsement? No worries. Dodgy taxi driver training institute unmasked.

Sacha

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 18:03:03 +1200

Uber has gone into carpooling in NZ

indeed

goforit

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:48:07 +1200

That is the reason for the facilitator to be licenced and to keep distance run and payments to driver records. There is zero commerical benefit in carpooling unless the record requirements are ignored. We all know Uber likes to ignore regulations, Uber's track record tells it all.

Rich of Observationz

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:41:29 +1200

I suspect that's why the drafters put the bit in about a ride-sharing facilitator being required to keep records of everything. Maybe people will patronise such a service for longer trips, e.g. Wellington to Auckland?

goforit

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:33:12 +1200

told you something was afoot with Uber and Bridges. Uber has gone into carpooling in NZ. I think this is an attempt to get arounf the licensing laws except of course where its come undone in light of Uber's policy of non compliance to licensing the charge out rate under…

Sacha

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 18:26:36 +1200

just plays golf with Uber all day

sounds like his prominent colleague.

Sacha

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 18:24:52 +1200

with what Bridges was saying in The Nation interview I am thinking something else is up between him and Uber

same

BenWilson

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 17:21:29 +1200

Yup, I've never got the impression that he actually knows how it works at all, nor what the law is. I think this process is just moving around him. Maybe he's playing a deeper game. Who can say, really? Who cares, even? The bill contains the important seeds of a…

goforit

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 17:16:04 +1200

I just taken another look at that interveiw and now think that Bridges must be very deluded as he appears to thinks Uber is a car pooling service providing a cost recovery service. He must think that Uber and its drivers work out of the goodness of their hearts not…

BenWilson

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 17:04:33 +1200

with what Bridges was saying in The Nation interview I am thinking something else is up between him and Uber.

Well he better get on with that fast, because Parliament is how we change laws in this country, not secret deals! If this gets to Parliament without any Uber clauses…

goforit

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 15:21:12 +1200

Hi Ben, I actually personaly agree with what you are saying and I do accept the general layout of the bill but with what Bridges was saying in The Nation interview I am thinking something else is up between him and Uber.

BenWilson

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 14:58:42 +1200

I can't see anything good in the bill for Uber at all. It does, at least, give a legal framework for the service that Uber provides. That framework, however, specifically eliminates their ability to operate from offshore. They have to have a local license and that can be taken away.…

goforit

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 11:02:52 +1200

I have just heard a really strange interview with Simon Bridges on TV this morning, the subject was on Aucklands transport problems. Bridges basicly said the new passenger transport regulations will help Uber acheive there goals in helping to reduce transport problems.
My imediate thought was, is the government going…

goforit

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 17:05:15 +1200

You are mostly right and whay you say is the same as us. 20 years ago I said to my fellow drivers at the time you just watch this load of drivers from a certain part of the world stuff the industry up big time, 10 years later they had…

BenWilson

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 14:09:26 +1200

And you keep on associating yourself with them

I’m associating with the drivers. Our association is most certainly not for Uber’s benefit, unless they change their ways. It’s purpose is to lay bare, from within, what the true story of working for Uber is. That can’t really be done from…

Rich of Observationz

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 13:23:00 +1200

Maybe NZIS should visit and check on these people's immigration status then?

goforit

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 12:38:36 +1200

And you keep on associating yourself with them, My assocition ended with them when they wanted and even threatened me if do as they wanted (in the way of fines and deactivations). I absoulely refused to operate outside NZ law on there bealf. Its a pity drivers in general just…

BenWilson

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 11:14:13 +1200

I've never met any staff. They don't have an office that you could do that in. They have a place where they sign people up, manned by people who are almost always clearly not from NZ (by their accents), and who never last long. These people are meant to handle…

Rich of Observationz

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 10:20:35 +1200

Are their 'staff' you've come across New Zealanders (on contract, you'd think) or visiting Americans?

BenWilson

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 09:22:11 +1200

I would not be surprised if drivers were actually killed over this.

Scary stuff. I would also not be surprised if the mob latches onto Uber as the absolutely perfect criminal gateway, if they drop compliance to licensing laws. There are few devices more perfectly invented for kidnapping people than…

oga

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 05:38:02 +1200

Elsewhere, Uber is attempting to enter the Quintana Roo market by launching in Cancun. The taxi industry in this state of Mexico is vigorously opposed to Uber’s entry and has been protesting (link in Spanish).

Unfortunately, the ‘Uber’ driver wasn’t even an Uber driver. He was picking up [[https://www.facebook.com/syrupysyrup/media_set?set=a.1090492484360002.1073741839.100001977821604&type=3|some friends (the…

BenWilson

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 23:12:55 +1200

It's hard to work for them for any length of time and not be struck by quite how unpleasant their business practices are. I turned a personal corner when one of the NZUDA members served a notice of a simple dispute on them, and the staff behaved in a way…

Rob Stowell

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 22:21:08 +1200

I didn’t realise uber are so nakedly aiming to eliminate their drivers from the equation.
It seems a bit evil.

goforit

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 17:50:43 +1200

Just seen you on Prime news

BenWilson

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 16:36:37 +1200

I'm likely to be on the 6 o'clock bulletin on TV3 tonight if you want to put a face to a name.

goforit

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 16:06:41 +1200

I just had another look at changes in the bill, have to admit its a bit hard reading as its need to be read along side the existing act, but does look like the loop holes Uber operates under are certainly going to be closed. I do like the idea…

BenWilson

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 14:19:18 +1200

Probably better to ask that one on our Facebook page – others are more over GST than I am. https://www.facebook.com/groups/nzuda/

goforit

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 14:12:27 +1200

Correction to above meant to say 1st October when the GST regs kick in.

goforit

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 17:39:29 +1200

Just had a world with the supplier of the camera system, updated price is $450.00 plus installation average installation is $50.00.
Ben has Uber come out with any plans in regartd to 1st of Augest when the GST requirement kicks in.

goforit

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 17:04:22 +1200

The cameras now have GPS co ordinates recorded for each burst of recording (i think the recording bursts are 10 mintues durations). I have just read the proposed changes to the act and even the non licenced area of car pooling is going to be licenced, Looks the the NZTA…

BenWilson

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 16:46:41 +1200

Yes, it's safer for both parties. Hard to get away with some kind of sexual abuse, and hard to falsely claim it either. At $450, it's kind of a no brainer. At least for anyone working at night, which is most Ubers. Uber's added safety of automatic route tracking should…

goforit

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 14:38:14 +1200

Camers have proven to be the best thing ever for safety and more importantly protect against false compliants especially from those underage females whom like to drop everyone into it with false sexual type compliants.
Price of the lastest NZTA approved camera is $450.00. Very cheap protection insurance I think.

BenWilson

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 13:28:53 +1200

Yup, the latter. It's got to be permanently mounted and the storage has to be hidden away where it can't easily be tampered with. Presumably in this day and age of wifi, that's not really as expensive as it used to be.

I think some of the problem is the…

Rich of Observationz

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 13:07:21 +1200

Why are cameras expensive – isn't it just a Go Pro, or do you have to use some kind of approved security camera service?

BenWilson

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 11:27:39 +1200

It seems like in vehicle security cameras are here to stay, too. The cost of that will be a hard sell to Uber drivers, but I think in the long run it's a sound idea, and almost entirely for the benefit of the drivers. I get so many reports of…

goforit

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 10:03:22 +1200

yes I have, I purposely put that comment in my previous note. If a blind person can
find their way to taxi rank and some some blind persons are very capable of doing so without help of another person that person is also capable of working out the taxi details.…

Sacha

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 21:46:19 +1200

they walked to a taxi rank, that in it self means the taxi is identified somehow

Reflect on that with your eyes closed. Go on.

goforit

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 21:21:44 +1200

Every single one had passengers who had used them to verify who was the registered driver of that cab. Until blind colleagues educated me,

That statement along proves these lablels are not required, the information on the braille lable only identifies the cab number and the ATO that cab operates…

Sacha

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 18:40:10 +1200

The removal of the Braille identification information is a bit of a worry. Not sure what's replacing it. I don't know how well that kind of law protected the sight impaired before.

It didn't. That's a great example of an advance being overturned for the minor convenience of businesses.

I've…

goforit

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 15:53:52 +1200

I must need new glasses looking at my spelling mistakes, LOL

goforit

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 15:50:50 +1200

6.1(6) A driver of a private hire vehicle may only charge a set fare or an hourly rate agreed with the prospective passenger at the time of booking.

This regulation was pointed out to the taxi industry by the NZTA when Uber first raised its ugly head with threats given…

BenWilson

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 14:38:56 +1200

The removal of the Braille identification information is a bit of a worry. Not sure what's replacing it. I don't know how well that kind of law protected the sight impaired before. Perhaps the thinking is that app based services do protect them better due to the vehicle route being…

BenWilson

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 12:46:19 +1200

Yes. in other words they have to be reachable. Currently, that is in doubt for Uber.

It's fairly certain Uber would not fall under the category of "cost sharing". That does not allow for time metering.

Rich of Observationz

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 12:41:44 +1200

My guess at a summary would be:
– what Uber do is clearly defined in the new law as a 'small transport service facilitator' S55 (7)
– A facilitator must be licenced (30J)
– The 'person in control' of a licensed facilitator must live in NZ 62 (30L 1A)
-…

BenWilson

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 11:57:34 +1200

Wicked, Rich, ta.

Rich of Observationz

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 10:56:27 +1200

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/00DBHOH_BILL69924_1/land-transport-amendment-bill

http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2016/0173/latest/DLM6960717.html?src=qs

BenWilson

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 10:29:33 +1200

Excellent. Do you have any links on that? Keen to follow the progress, to see what's coming.

goforit

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 20:48:36 +1200

Hi all, I see the bill to amend the transport act in regard to small passenger services was introduced in parlament today.

Rich of Observationz

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 16:31:23 +1200

A way of saying you can't make contracts to break the law?

Exactly. (Well, you can, but the illegal bits aren't enforcable).

But can the NZ banks be ordered not to process payments to specific offshore accounts?

They can be ordered to do anything (almost). Firstly there's regular civil law…

BenWilson

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 14:10:26 +1200

but statute law always trumps a contract, or at least, that’s what I’ve been taught.

A way of saying you can't make contracts to break the law?

I don't know if blocking their credit card payments would be possible. The accounts are quite possibly not even held in NZ. But…

Rich of Observationz

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 13:30:51 +1200

It's not impossible, it's that they are unwilling.

The government should, I think, be able to injunct them to desist. If they then refuse, then they have the power to block or garnish their credit card payments. Sure, the bank's will whinge at this and maybe claim it puts them…

BenWilson

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 13:22:42 +1200

Australia has pretty much killed the monopoly in the last month. Huge move on their part to legitimize Uber, although the devil will be in the details. If Uber is prepared to take the government here on over the mere $1500 or so in compliance costs per driver, I'll be…

Rich of Observationz

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 11:53:44 +1200

Well, their transaction costs are minimal (server and bandwidth). Their customer acquisition costs, as for every global 'tech' firm are high, but can be viewed as a one-off (once a customer has Uber on their phone, they'll keep using it until either Uber gets banned in their country or they…

Sacha

Sun, 11 Sep 2016 19:46:23 +1200

Hurt the little guy, and all the law abiding rivals, and let the big multinational that pays no taxes get away with inciting massive scale violations of the law and profiting from that.

also sounds like this govt's MO, now that you mention it ..

goforit

Sun, 11 Sep 2016 18:18:19 +1200

Taxi companies don't have the resources or the membership anymore to pressure anyone, at the moment drivers are leaving the ATOs they have operated under and working under Uber because this is where the work is. The choice the drivers have now is if you remain loyal and compliant you…

BenWilson

Sun, 11 Sep 2016 18:05:35 +1200

Unless current taxi companies lobby/pressure English, Joyce and Bridges as forcefully as Uber has done.

Which, of course, no local company has the power to do. For starters, any local company can be brutally punished for what Uber is doing – the legislation is designed for that, and it can…

BenWilson

Sun, 11 Sep 2016 18:04:02 +1200

Yes, I don't have a problem with there being proposed changes coming. I have a problem with the softly-softly approach being applied inconsistently to favour only one company, whilst at the same time brutally targeting the actual workers for that company. It's hard to think of a more iniquitous way…

Sacha

Sun, 11 Sep 2016 17:58:28 +1200

This govt has a track record for putting business interests ahead of public interest, so yes. Unless current taxi companies lobby/pressure English, Joyce and Bridges as forcefully as Uber has done.

goforit

Sun, 11 Sep 2016 17:47:26 +1200

At the moment the limbo served up is helping no one but Uber, who don’t give a crap about the law. It’s coming across as deliberate organizational favoritism.

This is what preventing any common sense approach to our industry and the problems around compliancy. I personally beleive when the proposed…

BenWilson

Sat, 10 Sep 2016 11:24:00 +1200

That's a reasonable analysis. I'd go further and say that their only competitive advantage is that they've aggressively purchased market share. I don't think that's widely regarded to be a strategy that works on its own.

In so far as locking in drivers is concerned, they're worse than vulnerable. They…

Sacha

Fri, 09 Sep 2016 20:24:50 +1200

not obvious what Uber's competitive advantage is
.. concludes NZ investment analyst Fisher Funds.

BenWilson

Fri, 09 Sep 2016 09:55:26 +1200

how long before Uber tries that on?

There's no need. Ubers can't take street hails even if they wanted to. They don't carry any means to process payments other than the app, so unless the ride was booked in the app, the driver can't get paid for it. So you…

Sacha

Thu, 08 Sep 2016 21:07:08 +1200

park on taxi stands

how long before Uber tries that on?

goforit

Thu, 08 Sep 2016 20:27:17 +1200

Especially now there is so many unlicenced vehicles and drivers completing in the same space.

BenWilson

Wed, 07 Sep 2016 13:53:16 +1200

I'd think the taxi drivers are likely to be much more committed to their work, though, having made a much more significant investment. Uber drivers take it or leave it at whim if they're part timers doing it for pocket money, but some guy who has bought a taxi, signage,…

goforit

Wed, 07 Sep 2016 12:41:27 +1200

hi Ben, upon reflection you are proberly right, I only been looking at things from midday to dinner time and to put the past taxi numbers into the mix, taxis numbers drasicaly increase in the evening/night over day time numbers especially on friday and saturday by about twice. Also taking…

BenWilson

Tue, 06 Sep 2016 17:21:14 +1200

The app shows you some of the cars in a neighborhood around the pin. We don't know if that's all of them that would show at that level on the map. The density of them varies from location to location and from time to time so we can't make assumptions…

goforit

Tue, 06 Sep 2016 16:51:13 +1200

This is where some experience of demand plus an educated guess comes in, looking at the Uber user app and judging satruation of various areas at certain time I would have a good guss at approximately 1800 Uber vehicles in Auckland. The actual amount of course would vary depending on…

BenWilson

Tue, 06 Sep 2016 10:34:24 +1200

Actually, we (the association) have done quite a lot of research into this. Many drivers are IT people, and have explored the API for all sorts of reasons. I can tell you that there's no way to find that information out. It's been carefully engineered not to keep persistent tags…

David Hood

Tue, 06 Sep 2016 10:23:31 +1200

Since Uber does not share details on who their drivers are

Though Uber has an API which you can enter arbitrary altitude and longitudes into and find out what "uber products" (available cars) are nearby- Not the registration, but a general description.

Despite Ben's data skills, I'm going to suggest…

BenWilson

Tue, 06 Sep 2016 09:49:40 +1200

Not if the fines are not collected in the end. I'm currently pursuing a line of inquiry into the status of how many fines and notices that have been issued have been paid or honored, vs how many frustrated in court or dropped beforehand. Then the huge question, the one…

goforit

Mon, 05 Sep 2016 17:21:59 +1200

A quick add up on the value of the offences is well over $100,000.00 more than enougth to cover the costs of enforcement.

goforit

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 21:26:36 +1200

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm makes one think, in the years gone by and not to distanced this was the sort of enforcement faced by the taxi industry. I can recall when approximately up to 50 tickets would be issued on a regular basis and this brought the taxi industry under control but wow…

BenWilson

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 19:42:43 +1200

NZTA say they’ve sent out 2407 warning letters to Uber drivers.

Yes, this has been excellent. Since Uber does not share details on who their drivers are, this list can only have been compiled since Uber started doing their own background checks, which started in April, triggering alerts on who…

Alfie

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 18:24:48 +1200

The Herald has some details of the Police operation at Queens Wharf on August 25-27 which netted a few Uber drivers. As the breakdown includes taxis and other drivers — 129 infringement notices, 18 drivers forbidden from driving — it's hard to know how many Uberers were actually nabbed, although the…

goforit

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 14:20:27 +1200

They may think they got a pet minister but I think that minister is playing both sides. I think by now the minister must realise that we are all watching his moves and he now between the rock and hard place. Our advice to the drivers who are coming to…

BenWilson

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 13:56:22 +1200

Thanks. The biggest problem with the proposed regs is that there is no time frame at all on it. The Minister hints at this year. But that's slipping away. More clarity on this is certainly needed. It will make my job of convincing drivers to get TSLs so much easier…

goforit

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 13:15:52 +1200

Very true most of what you say, the PSL (TSL) are going under the proposed changes to the act but then you are at the whim if the ATO you work under, unless you hold an ATO yourself.
The metering side is no argument, under the new proposed regs even…

BenWilson

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 12:10:09 +1200

We may not agree with all the regs in the transport and other acts but that dosn’t give any company or person the right to just ignore the regs.

I agree with this, for the most part. Always in law, there are rules that linger on well past their use-by.…

goforit

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 10:01:22 +1200

I’m actually more concerned about the people being tricked into a shitty low pay illegal job, who are receiving huge fines and blots on their record whilst the instigator continues to hold the pay down, fire the staff arbitrarily, break the law at will and gets held up as a…

Rich of Observationz

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 09:14:43 +1200

Have you heard what will happen when companies supplying services online into NZ are expected to collect GST from October 31st?

BenWilson

Thu, 01 Sep 2016 21:35:28 +1200

I'm not deactivated, and have helped a few drivers in that circumstance get reactivated. But these deactivations were not for fines at all. The arbitrary deactivations have been for ratings falling below an arbitrary threshold set by Uber. I'm not aware of any driver being deactivated because they incurred a…

goforit

Thu, 01 Sep 2016 21:07:32 +1200

Guess Ubers support is called deactivation. I also have heard that several Uber drivers from your group saying they been deactivated without any reason given. Looks like things are heating up at long last. Hope they have left you alone.

BenWilson

Thu, 01 Sep 2016 18:50:42 +1200

I'd love to be able to answer whether that is true. Hopefully I might soon be able to. But I do know this much: They certainly undertake directly with the drivers who have been fined to help them. Not in writing, of course. It's always a verbal promise made down…

goforit

Thu, 01 Sep 2016 18:32:47 +1200

If any driver is holding thir breath waiting for Uber to help them out they are in trouble.

BenWilson

Thu, 01 Sep 2016 18:23:48 +1200

Yes, I did. They're going hard again, which is good. I'm still somewhat in the dark about where these prosecutions actually go in the end, though. The claim that Uber defends them is something I'd like answers to.

I also understand that the CVIU is following up with the people…

goforit

Thu, 01 Sep 2016 14:14:48 +1200

Hi Ben, have you heard that last friday night several Uber drivers received offence notices with fines of $10,000.00 for PSL offences from the CVIU.

goforit

Tue, 30 Aug 2016 17:01:54 +1200

I did read that several weeks ago and thought there goes the world take over by Uber, since reading it Uber pulls out of China and other clinks in the armour are opening up.

Sacha

Sun, 28 Aug 2016 13:42:17 +1200

Why Uber's approach didn't work in Japan.

goforit

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 15:12:27 +1200

Hi Ben, very well said, whats happening is fairly close to what I have said will happen. I see his lady friend has packed it in due to the pressures the Uber clown has come under, thats usually a good indicator on things.
His lack of respect to his main…

BenWilson

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 14:10:26 +1200

They're pretty much a go-for-broke outfit. It would seem they're throwing all their eggs into two baskets – buying market share, and buying driverless car technology in the hope that they can join the two at some future point. It's an incredibly risky strategy, since it relies on technological break…

goforit

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 12:24:04 +1200

By the news article today we see the reason for the distraction, Uber is still losing money and of course blaming the fact drivers are the problem. After 7 years operating in the USA where in some cities Uber is in great demand it still cannot turn a profit. Makes…

goforit

Thu, 25 Aug 2016 14:04:15 +1200

I think Uber has done a good job on distracting everyone from the current situation of being non compliant to local laws (all over the world) with all this driverless car crap. Certainly has moved the spot light off their negative moves, like getting their arses kicked in China and…

Ben Austin

Thu, 25 Aug 2016 04:28:34 +1200

Now that I think about it, a friend wrote a short story based on the Croydon atmospheric railway, for a local newspaper.

Joe Wylie

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 13:59:57 +1200

Sydney Padua
*Appreciated*

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 13:17:37 +1200

I’ll see your
Kate Beaton’s Brunel.
and raise you Sydney Paduas’ Brunel!!
from Lovelace and Babbage

Joe Wylie

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 11:36:12 +1200

Isambard Kingdom Brunel connection.

Kate Beaton's Brunel.

David Hood

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 11:18:32 +1200

If you are lacking ideas, consider the humble vacuum cleaner,

That's so century before last

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_railway

As with pretty much any 1800's engineering, there was a Isambard Kingdom Brunel connection.

Joe Wylie

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 10:00:15 +1200

Tony Abbott is mourned in Australia...will be missed by the country’s wordsmiths.

Wordsmurfs, more like it. Going by their mealy-mouthed collection of bland "Australianisms", that lot couldn't get a soapy stick up a dog's bum.

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 09:19:22 +1200

..speaking of 'Bruce-losers' ...
– Tony Abbott is mourned in Australia...
Whatever your feelings about Tony Abbott, the former prime minister did add colour to the Australian language and will be missed by the country’s wordsmiths.
That’s the view of Oxford University Press boss Peter van Noorden, releasing the second…

Joe Wylie

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 08:37:19 +1200

I understand that London's Victorian underground railway has resulted in a sometimes fatal disease now known as Tube-berk-closeness...
:- )

...not to be confused with brucellosis, encountered mainly around Earl's Court?

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 06:51:10 +1200

Hyperloop...
...consider the humble vacuum cleaner, then consider how fast a human could travel if he or she was the size of a dust particle and didn’t mind fatal health outcomes.
I understand that London's Victorian underground railway has resulted in a sometimes fatal disease now known as…

Ben Austin

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 22:53:41 +1200

I would hope not to be considered an arse, as I was asking if this in fact was the case. Which it seems not. I shall report to Darpa for re-education.

Ian, thank you for that vision of the future. I shall keep an eye on the newswires.

Ben, please…

BenWilson

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 17:58:49 +1200

I wonder, also, if the software is updated, whether that technically makes the "driver" into a different "person". Or, on the whole 'nother angle, if the personhood resides in the software, whether that means the same "person" is in all the different vehicles, and thus any demerits scored in any…

BenWilson

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 17:51:20 +1200

specifically the eye test and the oral questions

Proving they're 16 years old and ready for their learners license will also be interesting.

BenWilson

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 17:49:13 +1200

Sure, that’s not a full day on the road by any means

At 50km/h, it's well beyond a full day's work.

Moz

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 17:16:09 +1200

Would a driverless car respond to a police officer asking it to pull over and stop. If so who or what gets the offence notice.

The car, obviously, since that's the thing operating the vehicle and in possession of the driver's license. The bit that I want to see is…

Moz

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 17:14:13 +1200

"switch from trolley buses to battery buses"
have seen no evidence that fossil fuel usage will be reduced rather than increased by the introduction of hybrid buses.

Do you know what a non sequitur is?

My point was that building a trolley bus network is probably more expensive than buying…

BenWilson

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 16:39:30 +1200

So an unregulated, unregistered driverless car would be left to go on its way on the road after authorities remove/fine the offending passenger?

Well this is in the hypothetical world that Uber continues to get the free pass that it has so far, that the government will never hold them…

BenWilson

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 16:32:29 +1200

LOL, now there's an angle I never thought of. That the Minister would say it's already legal!!

I'm finding it a bit hard to believe he took legal advice on that. The law states that the driver must have an appropriate license, and that they must be of the appropriate…

goforit

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 16:22:06 +1200

Would a driverless car respond to a police officer asking it to pull over and stop. If so who or what gets the offence notice.

David Hood

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 16:13:31 +1200

This would then not actually be done, but individuals found in such cars would be charged instead.

So an unregulated, unregistered driverless car would be left to go on its way on the road after authorities remove/fine the offending passenger?

The first few insurance cases around this, let alone any…

linger

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 16:07:27 +1200

But could any vehicle that doesn't at least allow a human driver pass a WOF?

goforit

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 15:56:59 +1200

Hi Ben, reading the statement made by our great leader the Minister of Transport he states there is no such law that states a vehicle must have a human driver. With the way he has handled Uber or lack of would such a statement let Uber off the hook over…

BenWilson

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 15:19:41 +1200

Which would be tricky to do if they are developing their own cars and putting those assets on a road. That gives authorities something to latch onto.

Yes, you'd hope that if driverless cars were unleashed without legislation allowing them, that the punishments in the country would be quite severe.…

Rich of Observationz

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 13:40:21 +1200

I suspect the switch from trolley buses to battery buses is happening about now

I'm suspecting a bogus greenwash here and have seen no evidence that fossil fuel usage will be reduced rather than increased by the introduction of hybrid buses.

Do these buses really have the battery capacity to…

David Hood

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 13:02:40 +1200

They’ve got the legal and ethical side under control (they just ignore it).

Which would be tricky to do if they are developing their own cars and putting those assets on a road. That gives authorities something to latch onto.

Moz

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 12:37:45 +1200

Anything could happen…

They look so young :) Also, can we call him BoSco or RoSco to fit in with the latest young kids?

If we're going to do freaky stuff on roads, I like the pedal powered monorail guy at http://shweeb.co.nz/ Utterly impractical, more than slightly nuts, but also…

BenWilson

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 10:58:52 +1200

Love that Italian one. Those literally do exist, they even look exactly like that. They're called mobility scooters. Somehow, they just haven't taken off, though, although they are good for the disabled. I wonder if that's going to be the real spinoff from all the driverless technology. Flop on the…

BenWilson

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 10:52:13 +1200

I’ve sort of assumed that this kind of technology would be designed for broad, well designed and laid out motorways, or roads that can easily be embedded with sensors or have other identifiers.

Yes, I would not deny that if the entire roading infrastructure were to be altered, different technology…

Ian Dalziel

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 10:15:16 +1200

technology would be designed for broad, well designed and laid out motorways, or roads that can easily be embedded with sensors or have other identifiers.
Anything could happen…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tf1wzg4rdE

Moz

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 09:15:24 +1200

I've sort of assumed that this kind of technology would be designed for broad, well designed and laid out motorways

That would be where assume makes an ass, then. The old DARPA challenge was almost all off road, for example, and the current problems mostly involve situations where many human…

Ben Austin

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 02:40:44 +1200

I've sort of assumed that this kind of technology would be designed for broad, well designed and laid out motorways, or roads that can easily be embedded with sensors or have other identifiers.

Ben Austin

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 02:38:18 +1200

Do any of the self driving technologies have any real success dealing with the secondary roads that make up much of NZ (and I'd assume most countries)'s roading networks?

Without knowing anything useful about the technology it seems that we surely must be some way from having a safe technology…

Sacha

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 15:55:31 +1200

Don't have energy to find links but plenty of stories this year about self-drive emergency ethical challenges like deciding whether to run over multiple pedestrians to preserve the single passenger.

Rich of Observationz

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 13:22:08 +1200

There are some identity political people who will find your use of the term 'geek' offensive. As a reclaimed term of abuse, it can only really be used from within the geek community: so you shouldn't be using it without unless you either have a BSc in a technical subject…

Rich of Observationz

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 13:19:38 +1200

Depends: what are the ethical issues with selling a car with drum brakes? – at the limit, they're going to fail to stop and crash into people in circumstances where ABS disks would have pulled the car up in time. The defence is that the transport authorities have decided they…

BenWilson

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 10:41:04 +1200

And the ethical and legal issues with self-drive are greater than the tech ones.

Depending how you prioritize things, of course. Since the ethical issues are essentially externalized, they don't cost the developers much. But I think the tech is going to cost them far more than they think. Since…

Sacha

Sun, 21 Aug 2016 18:01:33 +1200

Some of em like our friend Juha, yes.

As Ben has noted, there is no forseeable substitute for separated rail or busways to move large amounts of people. And the ethical and legal issues with self-drive are greater than the tech ones.

goforit

Sat, 20 Aug 2016 17:46:59 +1200

Oh god the geeks beleive their own bulls**t LOL

Alfie

Sat, 20 Aug 2016 11:40:23 +1200

Just read a bit more on these driverless cars, there will be two people on board to run the thing, one driver just in guide the car when required and an geek to run the computor that operates the car.

Only during the testing phase. Which is sensible.

Picking up…

Sacha

Sat, 20 Aug 2016 06:44:21 +1200

inductive charging coils in the road.

Paul Campbell

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 22:02:31 +1200

not for long

goforit

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 21:00:47 +1200

just read anotheer what I would think is insulting to the Uber drivers, in the past Uber drivers where called "Partners", now the drivers are just "dudes" that cost Uber to much money.

goforit

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 20:53:35 +1200

goforit

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 16:47:41 +1200

you missed the point, as the car is driverless and no one in attenance on the forecourt who is actually going to put the pump nossle into the car.

Stephen R

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 16:13:58 +1200

If they can make the whole get-in-get-out process not involve any sort of manual payment, I suspect it would be a piece of cake for an Uber driver-less car to rock up to a participating petrol station, be filled up, and drive away, and all the payments happen in the…

goforit

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 15:51:54 +1200

Interesting point, if Uber does end being a driverless operation and as service stations are now help yourself, how is petrol going to be put into driverless cars as one would presume these cars are will be continuously on the road.and where they end up at the end of each…

goforit

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 14:21:49 +1200

One has to give Uber full marks for showmanship, looks like they are putting all their eggs and the investors money into one basket

BenWilson

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 09:52:07 +1200

you’d have to be naive to ignore Uber’s end-game

It could be that their end-game is naive. They literally are relying on making a technological break through. I wouldn't want to be banking on that. Definitely not if I was an investor, and definitely not on the very long history…

Alfie

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 09:40:55 +1200

Of course they have people in the cars during testing but you'd have to be naive to ignore Uber's end-game. You're welcome to view this as merely a bluff from Uber, however the world's media seems to be playing along with their game. [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2016/08/18/how-uber-plans-to-put-its-own-drivers-out-of-business/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_uber-12pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory|How Uber plans to put its own…

goforit

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 09:27:52 +1200

Uber is conducting tests with driverless cars in Pittsburgh and elsewhere with Ford and Volvo. They’ve just bought
Not true, when one reads this statement fully a driver is still in the car to take over when/as requied, the article goes on to say driverless cars cannot handle weather related…

Alfie

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 08:56:40 +1200

...this crap about driverless cars is just a red herring from Uber, it basicly says do what we want in the way of removing regulations or we will let lose driversless cars on you.

I wouldn't be so sure. Uber is conducting tests with driverless cars in Pittsburgh and elsewhere…

Moz

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 12:47:39 +1200

You may be confusing the underlying blockchain tech with its first example, bitcoin. Other methods are sprouting.

From a quick skim round the web my understanding seems to be common.

If they don't have the mining element, they're very hard to distinguish from generic cryptographic signing, where for example the…

Sacha

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 07:50:21 +1200

legislative candy

Bridges back to grabbing his ankles.

Ian Dalziel

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 07:40:42 +1200

Uber is suing London's transport regulator in the latest skirmish over rules that may harm the controversial company's business.
Uber will ask London judges to decide the legality of rules that require drivers from non-English speaking countries to pass a language exam, the company said in a statement. The measures…

BenWilson

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 01:54:12 +1200

Block chains make everything better. I sprinkle them liberally on everything.

BenWilson

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 21:45:48 +1200

Gotta headdesk over this. It's like the Small Passenger Services Review that has been underway for ages, in which Uber made a submission, and the recommendations are already in their favour, never happened. Somehow, Simon Bridges is responsible for a "ceasefire" in a war that never happened. He gave them…

Sacha

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 20:05:40 +1200

You may be confusing the underlying blockchain tech with its first example, bitcoin. Other methods are sprouting.

Moz

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 16:17:14 +1200

Blockchain may solve that part of the problem somehow.

I think that's an excellent summary of blockchain in general.

Unfortunately it comes with the cost that blockchain is inherently about waste. It's not so much that encryption is wasteful per se, it's that blockchain is built around a race to…

Sacha

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 11:47:33 +1200

Blockchain may solve that part of the problem somehow.

BenWilson

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 10:29:57 +1200

one has to keep in mind any app is only an communication tool, its an improvement in communication over the older phone/ Rt / data systems already employed for years in the movement of people from A to B.

It's way, way more than that!! An app on a smartphone…

Moz

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 15:10:27 +1200

. Given that such a thing already exists and is not popular at all, what evidence is there that it will suddenly become a whole lot more popular?

You're actually describing a velomobile, except for half the negatives. One serious issue with velomobiles is the risk of getting rear-ended because…

Moz

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 15:04:19 +1200

(800m from a train station) Yes, funny isn't it. That's a 5 minute ride on a $50 second hand POS bike

Which is exactly how my partner and her sister get there. It's not hard, but it's also not huge fun late on a rainy night. There's a bus route…

goforit

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 15:04:06 +1200

An app is part of the solution, but one has to keep in mind any app is only an communication tool, its an improvement in communication over the older phone/ Rt / data systems already employed for years in the movement of people from A to B.
One must not…

Moz

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 15:02:11 +1200

Most passenger cars are not ... 2m long (that's about the length of my body, so if I'm to fit inside it, it's going to have to have literally nothing else inside)

People sit up in cars rather than lying down. A Smart is just over 2m long (2695 x…

BenWilson

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 13:23:38 +1200

It's an interesting discussion, if only to debunk that Uber is the commute option of the future. I do see a future of commuting that involves apps and sharing cars, and that one is not that far off and doesn't involve massive infrastructural changes. But it is not where Uber…

BenWilson

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 13:19:00 +1200

We live 800m from a train station and find it hard to get housemates who will walk that far.

Yes, funny isn't it. That's a 5 minute ride on a $50 second hand POS bike that you could chain up at the station. But people would rather do a 5…

goforit

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 13:14:40 +1200

Now now all of this pie in the sky crap may be ok with those in the dream world of what they think of the future, now get back to the real world. Thats cars, trains buses etc and humans not comforming to anything but them selves. We just get…

BenWilson

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 13:04:39 +1200

While I agree with you about that, the evidence is not on our side – millions of people do it every day.

Well not quite as small as what you were suggesting. Most passenger cars are not 1m wide (with interior even smaller, by the thickness of the walls at…

Moz

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 12:14:51 +1200

https://theconversation.com/modelling-for-major-road-projects-is-at-odds-with-driver-behaviour-63603

The Conversation chimes in with a timely reminder that when new roads are built people use their mental "travel time budget" to travel further rather than spending less time travelling. Then when the "new road" reaches equilibrium, they complain that their travel time has increased.

David Hood

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 11:36:08 +1200

Or just the pure futurism, the feeling of being advanced whilst actually going backwards, the phony modernism of it. I think that’s currently the appeal of Uber.

So, Star Trek doors? (operated as they were by people off camera opening and closing them)

Moz

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 11:35:29 +1200

it's hard for me to see any real advantage in it. The door-to-doorness?

Exactly. We live 800m from a train station and find it hard to get housemates who will walk that far. Instead we get less rent and people who whine that when we, like our neighbours, have four…

BenWilson

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 11:01:48 +1200

But once the human-driver part of the problem is replaced by a few kilos of electronics, I suspect we will fairly quickly see “robot only” lanes, if not entire roads.

We already have those. They're called trains and they're way, way more efficient for moving massive numbers of people than…

BenWilson

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 10:51:59 +1200

I can more easily imagine the opposite.

I can see both, really. Smart cars haven't really taken off here, nor have any number of small personal transportation devices. I think people are righteously concerned about safety in tiny vehicles. But yes, better planning would help. Hell, mere bike lanes would…

Moz

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 10:08:16 +1200

I can see people picking much bigger vehicles

I can more easily imagine the opposite. Get a comfy armchair, add wheels, and only use it where hairless hominids aren't allowed to drive. Once your "car" is 1m wide and 2-3m long, you can fit a fukton of them into the…

BenWilson

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 09:53:52 +1200

Works that way on buses and trains

Yes, being able to do something other than drive is a consolation for the discomfort that often results from crowding in with other passengers. But in one's own vehicle it could be actually quite luxurious. Especially if parking it was not an issue…

Sacha

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 20:03:45 +1200

Could be less irritating, I guess, to sit there without having to control the vehicle

Works that way on buses and trains.

BenWilson

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 19:35:54 +1200

I wouldn't hold your breath for electric cars making viable taxi services. Taxis do big miles, and they can't plan in advance how many. Which makes electric a very limiting option.

Whether it would be viable in an online carpooling commuter service is somewhat independent of the electricness. That's either…

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 19:25:15 +1200

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/83185838/uber-talks-with-christchurch-airport-about-access
Christchurch International Airport has denied "blocking" a computer application used by people seeking rides with cut price taxi service Uber.
The complaint was made by an Uber driver.
Airport spokeswoman Yvonne Densem said her company was in talks with Uber which she said "is not collecting passengers from the…

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 17:19:55 +1200

who couldn’t understand the lyrics other than the title line.
the lyrics are...
:- )

Moz

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 17:00:36 +1200

Regrettably I have to concur with the utbe commenter who couldn't understand the lyrics other than the title line.

taxi drivers took Ecan (and people with mobility issues ultimately) for a ride…

Wholly sheet! It does seem to be a cunning fraud, in the sense that until very recently it…

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 15:12:53 +1200

Carbon cop-outs…
Motorists live in this fantasy place where there’s infinite oil that can be burned with no consequences…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRNqleXEoFw

Just read this book about a very possible future with rationed water too…
…well worth a look.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18505844-memory-of-water

Two taxi stories in The Press today – [[http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/83164238/first-direct-taxi-driver-robbed-at-knifepoint-in-christchurch|one with two men…

BenWilson

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 14:24:16 +1200

Give us some credit.

Indeed. Some of us are even Uber drivers ourselves.

it removes the ‘can’t decide where to go issue’ as the person paying has to enter a destination on their phone.

That's not entirely true. They can enter a destination, but they don't have to, and the…

Moz

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 10:05:50 +1200

The so called app developers, IT geeks, computor engineering nerds etc dont live in the real world.

I think you have the worlds flipped. Motorists live in this fantasy place where there's infinite oil that can be burned with no consequences, we can build infinite roads similarly without consequences, and…

Rich of Observationz

Sun, 14 Aug 2016 16:32:44 +1200

Give us some credit. App development professionals start (with or without the involvement of business analysts) by talking to everyone involved, working out a solution and then refining it, usually nowadays, using a defined process of looking at how people use the app, where they go wrong, etc.

Uber doesn't…

goforit

Sun, 14 Aug 2016 16:26:03 +1200

What ever the IT geeks come up with will never work basicly for the following reasons.

The so called app developers, IT geeks, computor engineering nerds etc dont live in the real world.

Passengers are human and as such cannot get on the same page as to speck, how many…

BenWilson

Sun, 14 Aug 2016 12:44:53 +1200

As you say, carpooling which relies on a stranger staying off the drugs for an evening is even higher risk than when it’s a friend. But the alternative is paying someone outright, which the law likes to call “a taxi service”.

Pretty much, although I don't know if the risks…

goforit

Sat, 13 Aug 2016 10:14:49 +1200

But the alternative is paying someone outright, which the law likes to call “a taxi service”.

This brings us back to the start of the circle. Uber is a taxi service and all the bull calling it something else is just crap.