London Regulator Says Uber Is Operating Legally 105
An anonymous reader writes London's transportation regulator has ruled private-driver provider Uber is operating within the law. Licensed taxi drivers in London last month staged a protest urging Transport for London to find that Uber's mobile app acts as a taximeter, which is illegal for use by private-hire vehicles. "TfL said in a statement: 'In relation to the way Uber operates in London, TfL is satisfied that based upon our understanding of the relationship between the passenger and Uber London, and between Uber London and Uber UV, registered in Holland, that it is operating under the terms of the 1998 PHV(L) Act.' The decision was welcomed by Uber's general manger in the UK and Ireland Jo Bertram as a 'victory for common sense, technology, innovation — and above all, London.'"
say what you will... (Score:5, Insightful)
...agree with the decision or disagree. But what's the deal with every legal matter, ever, requiring the involved parties to make public statements that sound like they're on the junior high debate team?
"The decision was welcomed by Uber's general manger as a 'victory for common sense, technology, innovation - and above all, London.'" No - the end of WWII was a victory for London. This is just one more thing Londoners can spend their money on.
"Aereo CEO and founder Chet Kanojia said, 'We are disappointed in the outcome, but our work is not done. We will continue to fight for our consumers and fight to create innovative technologies that have a meaningful and positive impact on our world." No, you're basically a cable company. A meaningful impact would be finding a cure for Alzheimer's.
Are canned statements like this actually effective in convincing the public that your pet project is inextricably linked to the survival of humanity itself? 'Cause to me, they just make you sound like a disingenuous prick.
Even better: this cliche soundbite garbage seems to be the only language spoken by our elected representatives, as well. Why not hire an orchestra to play ominous music in the background, while you're at it? It saddens me to see supposed leaders and captains of industry acting like pre-teens. It speaks poorly of us as a race.
Re:Expect the Republicans... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Expect the Republicans... (Score:3, Insightful)
I thought it was Labour that try to make the rich richer and accept back-handers from industry leaders? Or was it the LibDems? Maybe I'm just getting confused, but it seems like they're all equally sleazebags and they'll say whatever they think people want to hear.
I think you've summed up the whole of politics in that last sentence of yours there. We rarely see it described so succinctly.
Re:That's not going to make (Score:4, Insightful)
Google maps or whatever Uber drivers are using is not better than the Knowledge.
Uh, what? Google knows with far more precision than any cabbie where the roads are, where they go, what's on them, what it looks like, and when each particular road tends to have the highest utilization. That's because Google not only "never" forgets, but also because a cabbie is just one person, but Google reads the driving behavior of many.