California Labor Bill, Near Passage, Is Blow to Uber and Lyft

Re:California Labor Bill, Near Passage, Is Blow to Uber and ... by wozniacki on Tuesday September 10, 2019 @11:33AM (#20929332)

  Especially in the UK and other more regulated countries
  than the US, becoming an Uber driver takes time and 
  money as you require a licence. People aren't doing it
  as a side-gig.

What special abilities does London's licensing body require the driver of a black cab have to have over any other civilian driver?

I know black cab drivers need to be able to memorize maps of various neighborhoods but isnt that rather antiquated in the age of advanced GPS & traffic apps that do the same job better?

I'm all for thorough and deep background checks (and regulation to mandate them), to weed out sketchy drivers or those with criminal pasts, who drive for Uber & Lyft but anything beyond that is just bureaucratic over-reach & rent-seeking by the government.

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Re:California Labor Bill, Near Passage, Is Blow to Uber and ... by maxehmookau on Tuesday September 10, 2019 @11:39AM (#20929395)

Black cabs are, again, the exception to the rule. The vast majority of Ubers in the UK are licensed to local bodies and not Transport for London. Getting a Black Cab licence in London takes _YEARS_. Becoming a licensed minicab driver takes about 1 year.

> I know black cab drivers need to be able to memorize maps of various neighborhoods.

I assume you're referring to what we call "The Knowledge" and it's an exam that takes literally years to pass. You have to be able to name every single road, junction and corner in the entirety of Greater London from memory. The fact that people still use black cabs (and often pay a premium to do so) shows the value in local knowledge over the Google Maps hive-mind.

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Re:California Labor Bill, Near Passage, Is Blow to Uber and ... by repolfx on Tuesday September 10, 2019 @02:26PM (#20931538)

Well, or it's because a black cab is often nearby and can be easily flagged on the street, whereas Ubers are technically illegal (or did that get fixed) and cannot be spotted on the street.

The Knowledge is archaic. It exists only because regulation is ossifying and because existing black cab drivers feel "I had to do it, so should they". It's literally hardly changed since the 1800s and doesn't even cover all of London, just a six mile radius from Charing Cross.

Google Maps can do it better, more reliably and faster than any person, without the massive costs and overheads involved in the entire licensing and examination regime required. The amount of labour hours required for these cabbies to memorise the layout of central London alone is a staggering cost and there's no reason for it.

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