Uber, another company sucking money out of the UK.

[beorhthelm]

...However, the real place I have an issue with Uber is what they have done to the global economy. They are the epitome of zero hours contract employers and are moving more and more semi-skilled workers in to being freelancers rather than having a known salary and pension.

could you explain who it is that employs regular cabbies and private hire on salary and pensions?

 

[Nibble]

I'm certainly not going to watch a video with RB in !!!



Sending their money away - I assume you mean they pay no or little CT which I agree, using the loopholes to achieve this should be stopped
Don't pay taxes locally or in the community - well their drivers will be though
They are now raising fares as they are getting a monopoly - I'm not sure how it's a monopoly when there are 21,000 black cabs competing with them
They charged £150 for a 4 mile journey. - you know the charge before you step into the cab so the problem is what exactly ?
They do not pay their drivers minimum wage in many cases - how exactly does that work ? The minimum wage is law so how do they get round that ?
PR woman is Godmother to David Cameron's children and he is her children's Godfather - and ? So what ? Would it matter if she was the Godmother to say Blair's children ? Or is this just another Tory bash from you ?All in all IMHO Uber is a good thing. Black cabs are excessively expensive and anything that produces real competition is a good thing. Can't wait to try it when it comes to Brighton ( another city with stupidly priced cabs ).

As I stated above, these aren't my points. I'm listing key points from the video for those who didn't want to watch a RB video, as some cannot stand him. If you'd have watched the vid you'd have seen that I am merely listing the points raised, not endorsing them. But you wouldn't be you if you missed a chance to do a bit of misguided lefty bashing would you?!

 

[beorhthelm]

They may not be a monopoly in London yet but they are in many towns across the globe.

there are no barriers to entry in this market, any rival company can set up. its pretty simple, low over head business therefore not a monopoly, even if in a particular area no competition is around.

 

[Boys 9d]

Excuse my ignorance, what is the difference between Uber and the Private Hire operators who have existed for years in the UK?

 

[Nibble]

Okay, they're not a monopoly.

 

[Nibble]

Excuse my ignorance, what is the difference between Uber and the Private Hire operators who have existed for years in the UK?

Convenience and price mainly. And the parent company sends all it's profit to off shore accounts to avoid paying fair tax.

 

[Bozza]

And the parent company sends all it's profit to off shore accounts to avoid paying fair tax.

Can you please detail Uber UK's profit figures from the last few years.

 

[Nibble]

Can you please detail Uber UK's profit figures from the last few years.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/04/le...-point-to-over-1b-gross-revenue-213m-revenue/

I will try and source a longer period and more well known source. Bear with.

 

[Bozza]

http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/04/le...-point-to-over-1b-gross-revenue-213m-revenue/

I will try and source a longer period and more well known source. Bear with.

That's not UK. Please quote UK.

 

[brightn'ove]

My uber driver in birmingham last weekend told me that the drivers absolutely love it

They get paid EVERY time, no risk of people jumping the taxi
They don't have to deal with drunk idiots in their cabs AS OFTEN (still happens but they know exactly who the person is so can go to the police)
They can drive nicer cars because the aforementioned idiots dont ruin them
They can choose when they work and can refuse service based on other drivers' rating of customers
Thus, they are much happier in general.

Every uber driver i've had has been 10x happier and chattier than any cab driver i've ever had. All cab drivers do is complain!

 

[Bozza]

http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/04/le...-point-to-over-1b-gross-revenue-213m-revenue/

I will try and source a longer period and more well known source. Bear with.

I'll cut to the chase...

You keep going on about Uber sending profits offshore but...

1. You don't know what profits Uber makes.
2. You don't even know if they are in profit. (Given their aggressive drive to acquire both drivers and passengers, I suspect they are loss making at this stage)
3. A company that is not profit making will not be paying any tax anywhere - there'll be nothing to send offshore.

Beyond that, most of an Uber fare (c80%) goes to the drivers. Local people subject to local tax.

Beyond that 2: There has always been black cab drivers and mini cab drivers. I'm finding it hard to believe that most/all Uber drivers have not come from this existing pool of people. If you can prove otherwise, I'd be interested to read it.

 

[beorhthelm]

I'll cut to the chase...

but Russell Brand said they are bad. you're not challenging him, Shirley?

 

[KZNSeagull]

I don't deny Uber are a great convenience. I understand that people want the cheapest option available. My only question is, is it ultimately good for the UK. I don't know. They have good sides and bad sides.

All of the global companies that are very active in the UK but pay little or no tax there are good for the consumer in the short term, but can only be ultimately bad in the long term. I am not sure that the internet, for example, was created to take billions out of an economy but give little back and force many shops and businesses to close at the benefit of few, whilst the many get a short term boost to their buying power (if they still have a job of course). It cannot carry on forever.

 

[Guinness Boy]

could you explain who it is that employs regular cabbies and private hire on salary and pensions?

Stop being disingenuous. Maybe google The Uber Economy and then google Black Cab Economy. One will return meaningful results and the other won't. They are a by-word for a shift in the labour market to the degree that there was a large feature on the effect on the Today programme this morning.

 

[Nibble]

That's not UK. Please quote UK.

Look it up yourself if you're that bothered.

 

[Nibble]

I'll cut to the chase...

You keep going on about Uber sending profits offshore but...

1. You don't know what profits Uber makes.
2. You don't even know if they are in profit. (Given their aggressive drive to acquire both drivers and passengers, I suspect they are loss making at this stage)
3. A company that is not profit making will not be paying any tax anywhere - there'll be nothing to send offshore.

Beyond that, most of an Uber fare (c80%) goes to the drivers. Local people subject to local tax.

Beyond that 2: There has always been black cab drivers and mini cab drivers. I'm finding it hard to believe that most/all Uber drivers have not come from this existing pool of people. If you can prove otherwise, I'd be interested to read it.

I posted a video about Russell Brand's views on Uber.

 

[Stat Brother]

at that point the top came off the Pringles.

 

[symyjym]

My uber driver in birmingham last weekend told me that the drivers absolutely love it

They get paid EVERY time, no risk of people jumping the taxi
They don't have to deal with drunk idiots in their cabs AS OFTEN (still happens but they know exactly who the person is so can go to the police)
They can drive nicer cars because the aforementioned idiots dont ruin them
They can choose when they work and can refuse service based on other drivers' rating of customers
Thus, they are much happier in general.

Every uber driver i've had has been 10x happier and chattier than any cab driver i've ever had. All cab drivers do is complain!

This makes sense, it adds security to the drivers in what can sometimes be an unpleasant and even dangerous job.

The trouble is with RB, is that he choses and promotes one a side of an argument and populates propoganda for his own agenda and self promotion. Not one of your points was even mentioned in his video.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I'll cut to the chase...

You keep going on about Uber sending profits offshore but...

1. You don't know what profits Uber makes.
2. You don't even know if they are in profit. (Given their aggressive drive to acquire both drivers and passengers, I suspect they are loss making at this stage)
3. A company that is not profit making will not be paying any tax anywhere - there'll be nothing to send offshore.

Beyond that, most of an Uber fare (c80%) goes to the drivers. Local people subject to local tax.

Beyond that 2: There has always been black cab drivers and mini cab drivers. I'm finding it hard to believe that most/all Uber drivers have not come from this existing pool of people. If you can prove otherwise, I'd be interested to read it.

a) you could never "hail" a mini cab in London, only a black cab. Uber effectively allows you to hail from your phone, changing the market conditions
b) Drivers getting 80% is all very well but they can't plan their shifts all the time can they so it's 80% of a moving target
c) Even if Uber are not in profit their VC backers will be and they will be avoiding tax as much as possible - though granted that's capitalism in general for you and I'd rather have that than Brand's socialism.

 

[Bozza]

I posted a video about Russell Brand's views on Uber.

You did, but you also stated categorically "And the parent company sends all it's profit to off shore accounts to avoid paying fair tax"

I'm happy to accept you don't know what you're talking about if that is what you are saying now.