Never having used an Uber, and rarely visiting London, I'll not miss it.
Others may feel differently.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
I've never understood why cities allow this service without requiring it to do all the same things a taxi cab or limo company must do to be entitled to an operating license. I haven't used the service, but most people I know who go this route use Lyft instead.
Maybe it's an east coast thing, but it's provided a better priced and safer service than the medallioned archaic taxi service. Better safer cars and drivers who at least seem to care more about customer service.
I dropped Uber and switched to Lyft for political reasons, but I will always take ride sharing service over a taxi. I used them in Paris, too, after a taxi driver was nasty to me.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké
I'm surprised they were allowed at all in London. London cabs are expensive but because of the licensing exam for "the knowledge" they are the best by far anywhere. And they have a lot of pride in their profession, most of them wore coats and ties. Allowing a cheaper alternative will eventually displace them. In Paris I had to read the cabdrivers guide to CdG (in French) and tell the cabby, who had been driving there for 15 years, where to go.
I've said lots of nice things about the UK, maybe you're getting 'old timers' disease?
1. The breakfasts are great.
2. The Tate Britain is fantastic and free with no metal detectors (in 2011) Unlike France where the Louvre, Dorsay, Centre Pompidou, Sainte Chappelle (even Colville Sur mer but that may have been USians fault) charge beaucoup Euros and make every "walk the walk" through the metal detectors.
3. Greenwitch was fantastic, an amazing Maritime museum. Not too crowded either.
4. And the concierge at the hotel was superb. He really liked the US custom of 'tipping'.
5. They don't have as many holidays as the French who shut down at apparently random times.
6. They speak English tolerably well. With a little practice they could even overcome their accent.
7. They suppressed the godless, idol-worshipping, slavishly Popist, Catholics.
Oh so many nice things. I might be back there next June-ish.
If anyone actually believes Aspergers boy has been anywhere outside of his state, then would you be interested in buying Tower Bridge?
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Aspy seems not to have ever heard of this new fangled "google" thing, using information from which a pretence could be made of some travel experience.
Of course, the idea that he may post an image of himself in foreign climes is not to be contemplated...
Here's one of Hen and Hatch in Hong Kong...
Funny how someone so boastful and ego driven has yet to provide any photographic evidence...
Bless Him, his pretence of a life, when we all know him to be a total sham, is endearing, if odd.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
For Christianity, by identifying truth with faith, must teach-and, properly understood, does teach-that any interference with the truth is immoral. A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
The very thought that you could even fantasise about visiting the UK fills me with revulsion
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
What if we had an 'I loathe rubato' thread and kept all the loathing there, so it didn't muck up every other thread?
My experience with cabs isn't voluminous, but I've never had a bad one - D.C., Boston, Denver, Savannah, Philadelphia, San Diego, Phoenix, Baltimore - every cab was clean, city regulations prominently posted, fares calculated correctly, payment options provided, receipt provided upon request (cabs often used for work travel), and friendly, courteous drivers. Maybe it's just the energy I exude?
I don't think I'd feel comfortable calling an Uber, I've seen too many scary stories in the news and it seems clear that there has been a failure to identify and weed out criminals from the driver ranks. I don't know anything about Lyft but would assume many of the same issues exist.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
I've had far more good than bad cab rides (especially in London), but have had some horrible ones (although in cities I prefer walking and subways to cabs). I've never tried Uber, but both my daughters swear by it and Lyft, and neither has ever had problems with it.
as for London cabs, the big back taxis have the very qualified drivers, but there is a large number of other taxi services (not sure what the licensing is, but my colleagues in England used to call the "dodgy taxis") which are a lot like some of the worst taxis I've ever been in (dirty, not in the best repair, drivers who barely spoke English in any form, etc.)--I think these are usually called mini-cabs..
I've used Uber more than a few times for business travel, especially when mass transit is not available or would take an unreasonably long time. Generally, getting from an airport to my hotel is much cheaper with Uber than it would be with a taxi, but it depends on a variety of geographical factors. (In Chicago I used an actual taxi service that seemed to operate very much like Uber, but was licensed and regulated.) I'll be traveling to a conference in Florida next month and rather than renting a car, which I have always done in years past, I plan on taking Uber or Lyft from the Fort Lauderdale airport to Boca Raton and back; the cost is half that of a three-day rental and I won't have to take the shuttle bus to the rental center and wait in line for another 40 minutes for a car that's not there despite my reservation made two months in advance.
My biggest concern with these ride-share apps is insurance coverage in case there's an accident, although honestly I haven't investigated the issue very thoroughly (and yes, that makes me the worst personal injury lawyer in the world). My bet is that as cars-for-hire, many drivers' automobile policies would exclude coverage, and I'm not sure if my own coverage would consider Ubers to be "uninsured" or even "automobiles" within the meaning of our auto insurance statute -- which can affect eligibility for no-fault medical expense coverage. I have reasonably good health insurance so it shouldn't be much of a problem, but straightening out who should have paid for what after the fact can lead to a whole different set of problems.
Sue--I recall reading the paper when Uber first started becoming popular that the main company provided every driver with third party liability insurance while they were transporting a passenger. I don't recall if this is nationwide, but at least in NY and NJ.
That may be true, but like other "step down" policies I would bet they provide only the state minimums for liability (15/30), while the majority of NJ motorists have 100/300 coverage on their personal policies.
ETA:
I are rong. Uber actually provides 50/100 liability coverage for drivers who are waiting for a "fare," and $1 million in liability while en route with passenger. Also provides no-fault medical coverage comparable to taxi/limo coverage.
Now I feel much better about being injured in an Uber!
