It could be that we are seeing an end to Uber’s diabolical plan to rule the world by presenting itself as something that exists outside of human comprehension. The reality being, the vested interests (of which there were many) wanted Uber to exist outside the parameters of regulation. And the Conservatives bought in to the faux ideology, hook, line, and sinker.
The European Court Of Justice (ECJ) ends a prolonged legal battle started in 2014 by the taxi drivers' association in Barcelona. Uber claimed it was just an intermediary for connecting drivers with passengers. Absurdly - to guarantee the cab trade got well and truly mugged off - TfL still granted Uber a Private Hire Operator’s licence.
The ECJ ruled that since the Uber app is "indispensable for both the drivers and the persons who wish to make a journey" and since "Uber exercises decisive influence over the conditions under which the drivers provide their service," the company provides a transport service, not an information one. European countries must now regulate it as such.
I remember the case being referred to Europe and being told that it’d be 2 years before the Courts there got to look at it. The impenetrable façade presented by Uber made it seemed like the death knell was set in place to knoll firmly over the Cab Trade
The cab trade came late to the table, partly because The LTDA had always considered themselves to be part of the establishment. I always thought that the old coppers club up at Woodfield Road eased policy to the trade, but now, TfL had a ‘partner’ in town, one that came with REAL benefits.
I maintain to this day that Oddy’s position on TfL’s Board was the biggest disservice ever served to the cab trade. Conversely, I do not think TfL and The LTDA had a chummy relationship during that time, in fact, I believe Oddy, in TfL’s eyes, represented the face of the cab trade.
As if that wasn’t enough to do us all an injustice, then the realisation that the cab trade was impotent and couldn’t do anything, was all TfL needed to set about dismantling us as an institution. After all, Uber now provided the tools with which to do it.
Even though we are in a slightly better position than we were under the last administration, it’s worth remembering that political persuasion against the cab trade hasn’t gone away. The Conservatives are still there, acting unlawfully I might add, by going on social media to rally support for Uber and Teresa May voiced her objection to the Mayor’s decision notto renew Uber’s license. It was, in fact, what May didn’t say that spoke volumes. Whatever we may think, Uber’s influence runs very deep on both sides of the house and we dismiss it at our peril.
Whilst we know Uber is our adversary (or at least the catalyst that was used for our demise) we are reluctant to face what I consider to be a more insidious enemy; the enemy that comes from within, one that utilises the service of an established product to compete with Uber’s phoney gig economy explosion and one whose stake in the trade is maturing at an alarming rate.
I’ll go on record as saying, the heavily invested Corporate owned apps, are the single biggest threat our industry faces today. We need to summon the strength to tackle it head on. It’s not easy, mainly because it is a case of the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.
The transgression in Uber’s booking procedure does not apply to the taxi hailing apps. Extensive training undertaken by a taxi driver coupled with additional regulation means unless the booking happened outside of their licensed area Taxi drivers can accept a direct hiring as we are also operators in own right. We cannot therefore blame TfL for licensing these apps illegally as they did Uber, simply because there is no licence to be had.
For the taxi hailing apps, Uber has never been their main competition. The main competition for these apps is, the humble street hail. For the taxi hailing apps such as Gett and MyTaxi, the work generated on the street is a massive impediment to them competing with Uber on a global scale. For either of them to make their name as players in the ‘Logistics’ business both companies need to eliminate or at least minimise our street work. Even then, the Taxi trade is too restrictive a market to use as sample base in the field of logistics. Both Gett and MyTaxi will need to transcend our industry sooner or later if they are to grow
I clearly remember the coal miners strike during the Thatcher administration. Their downfall was due to working too efficiently. They had literally produced mountainous coal reserves, so when the time the stand off became about endurance, the miners were left with no bargaining power, and no bargaining power ripped the life out of those communitieswho’s very survival was reliant on mining trade. Likewise, the street hail represents the very nucleus of our modus operandi, but considered as lost revenue by the apps. Simply, fewer jobs on the street, the more we are beholden to shareholders. Once the balance has tipped there’ll be no clawing our work back, and this time we’ll have no one else to blame but ourselves. Like I mentioned previously, this is not a call to return to the good old days, that’s never going to happen, but we need to get organised, and quick.
You could say, Uber made us more equipped to tackle future competition that might emanate from our own Silicon Valley. So much so, that London is the first City in the world where the officially licensed taxi trade has developed its own app. A little like how the Soviet threat in the 50’s was neutralised when Britain announced we had developed nuclear energy to be used as a bomb, the Taxi Trade has its own solution to the Corporate ‘asset grab’ of our industry. If you haven’t heard of Taxiapp yet, you should have. It’s a great equaliser and is the only app in existence run as a cooperative by its drivers. If we don’t soon realise it’s significance (and huge potential) it might be too late.
Even if Gett & MyTaxi don’t consider themselves as the destroyer of our industry, their endgame is automation so there is no incentive for them to strengthen our position as taxi drivers. Nor will we have to wait that long, expect there to be a shift over to connected transport systems where ‘usership’ as opposed to ‘ownership’ is the order of the day. Any wonder then why the established apps seem unconcernedabout the purchase price of the new electric cab?
The authorities are beginning to realise that the modern world is multifaceted, with no prescriptive model that works for every city. The one thing the ECJ ruling doesn't do, and that isgrant cities a license to stymie competition. It establishes a more accountable playing field, not a protectionist environment.
No doubt TfL will purposely misunderstand that as they disingenuously try to balance business interests with their role as regulator. Which, ironically, is not too dissimilar to our dilemma of biting the hand that feeds us. Remember the movie, The Beast With Five Fingers, the hand that is feeding me is ultimately the same hand that’s priming me to be strangled.
The cab trade needs to face up to some stark decision making whilst we are afforded a rest-bite. I’ll leave you with one of my favourite quotes ever,
“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response. ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.”
Lewis Carroll
As with the miners, we reap what we sew, only this time we have a choice,
Sean Paul Day
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