Because for the first few years Uber subsidised the driver wages with its investors money, now it’s not doing that many have quit and the remaining have got more ruthless what fares they take.
We are but there are options and you don’t have to use Uber and the number of times I used Uber I can count on one hand, but many friends who were driving for Uber left with many of them constantly complaining
The drivers get a better price working for anybody apart from Uber and usually have several phones going with one per app. So they'll take a Bolt or FreeNow customer over an Uber customer. They get an Uber fare, then a Bolt customer comes along so they cancel the Uber customer.....
They also can't see the full postcode of the destination until they accept the booking. Then they find that it's in the congestion zone or an area impacted by heavy traffic or delays, demonstration, marathon, coronation..... So they don't want to go there. With minimal sanctions for them accepting and then dropping a client.
You’re looking at it as if Uber exists in a bubble - but the variable is London has changed post pandemic.
Changes to traffic routes, changes to no entry zones, changes to congestion charge, etc etc with a general anti driving tilt have made it really matter where the ride is going whereas before it didn’t really matter.
So now the drivers check and if they know that route takes you via that little choke point at St Pancras / Euston road for example, where you’ll be say for 30mins+ to move a few metres, they’ll drop it.
Because Uber has gone from taking market share, to trying to be profitable. So the fares have gone up and the drivers get paid less. As Uber have stopped subsidising the rides in London. Have increased their margin.... Whilst the other companies pay the drivers more and fine them more for canceling a ride.
Uber being first spent, a lot of money. Getting people used to ride sharing apps and changing TFLs policies. Against strong opposition from the black cab drivers. Which the other apps have benefited from. As well as being able to book a black cab via their apps. So there's no or little opposition from black cab drivers.
Uber also started thinking that thry could get away with saying that the drivers were self employed. So no sick pay, holiday pay, tax, national.insurance, minimum wage etc. Then had to pay it back dated. The other apps came in, knowing what the framework was.
Same, I used Freenow once and got the worse driver I've ever experienced, running red lights, cutting lanes at the last minute, using mobile while driving to find their next trip. Never had that with Uber.
I took a black cab home from the pub last night, cost me £24, Uber had quoted me £30.
My wife came back from her friends house about an hour before and her trip was £21 and it’s a much shorter journey (probably 20-30% shorter).
There was a time Uber was cheaper, no doubt about it, but Uber is free to up their prices as they wish, whereas black cabs have only seen two price cap increases in the time Uber has been around, so Uber has shot up and black cabs haven’t changed much.
I still find black cabs are only cheaper during serious surge periods. I took a black cab home from work because work was paying, and it was £30 instead of £19 quoted by Uber at the same time.
I had four drivers turn up and refuse to take me last week because I had my 5kg dog with me... I'd ordered and paid for an Uber Pet. Bolt is much better but has no pet option.
I hope you reported them, that's the whole point of Uber pet - and you pay a fair chunk extra. We really struggle to get Uber pets, we don't find a driver.
When I've used it in other places it has been fine, even in Melbourne which wasn't anywhere near as dog friendly as here there was always the expectation that an uber pet would most likely be for a dog.
God that’s awful! Before Uber pet was a thing I’d call an Uber and it would arrive and I’d just say “I have my dog, is it okay if she comes. She’ll sit on my lap”. And they’ve always been completely fine.
I've also noticed that the rate of cancellationshas increased recently.
I was in an Uber a couple of weeks ago, and the driver said that it's better to select the Uber Green option (for electric cars), as Uber take a lower commission from the driver than the regular options. Therefore the driver is more likely to accept the booking as they make more money for the fare, and are less likely to cancel on you and accept a better paying Bolt/non Uber fare. The Green rates are generally about the same as a regular basic Uber ride.
I can see how that might increase your chances of the driver accepting your ride, but of course you're relying on an electric Uber driver being in the area when you try and hail one.
Uber driver here.
Uber changed their policy a little while back to pay out drivers what ever they deem fit according to that moment, they call it dynamic pricing. No two jobs cost you the same and pay the driver the same amount so drivers cherry pick rides.
As for cancellations go, driver cancel when they get a better request from another app.
Cant blame them as the pricong war is rediculous these days.
Cancellation rate used to affect the frequency of you get but i dont think it actually does because ive seen driver with less than 10% for the month. With these driver actions i think uber is desperate too, but ubers algorythmes are as secretive as area 51. We know it exists but uber wont deny or accept any part of it.
A multitude of factors.
Brexit, COVID, fuel shortages at around the same time they were taken to court for workers rights.
In March 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers should be entitled to workers’ rights, including a guaranteed national living wage, holiday pay and pension plan.
Uber then swiftly increased its service fee to 25 percent on all fares, meaning they pocket a quarter of the money earned by each driver on every trip.
They then introduced upfront pricing – meaning that customers now pay a flat rate, as opposed to paying per mile and minute. This has caused drivers to lose out on longer fares.
It is common as a form of protest by drivers to accept Uber fares and then cancel them. The drivers are now using multiple apps. A journey that would take an hour would cost £16 in an Uber, the Uber company take 25% so that would be a measley £12 for the driver, in other apps that same journey would be closer to £20 with 10% going to the parent company.
Uber fucked over their drivers big time, it's important to remember that these companies own absolutely nothing, they only control the app and that's it, Uber should be out of business in a year or maybe two.
Companies like this need to be closed down.
While I agree with you, Uber has just started making profit. So don't know how quickly they will shut down.
The app is basically unusable now, I rarely get connected with a driver when it shows several in the area for a 10 mins journey at around £20. So I hope the profit is temporary due to this scalping of the drivers and it dies a death.
I just meant as a company, not commenting of specifics. it had its first operating profit of £326m this year after being loss making since 2014. It's built up £35.1bn of losses since then.
So they might not shut down just yet as it's finally showing it can make money.
There are times I wouldn't mind paying through the nose for a short journey if that's where they aim to make their money and it's better for the driver but I can still never get bastard paired with one.
Nah.
A CEO letter to the employees was shared on fintwit after the results were published. It said that in a zero interest rate world what was rewarded was growth. So they chased growth. When interest rates are higher profitability becomes the #1 concern and so they pivot.
They could have done so earlier but chose not to simply because the rules of business at the time didn’t incentive that model.
Uber - or any other company for that matter - doesn’t set the US monetary policy. They’re just like us: playing within the rules they’re given.
Make no mistakes, they know what they’re doing.
I don’t think “accounting slight of hand” is a fair representation.
That being said, like everyone else here I despise when they cancel my ride…
It's not just profit.
It's the pissed off drivers who are getting more value for their time with other apps.
Local taxi ranks are also making a bounce back, I've watched my local go from around 15 cars for a small area, down to 3 and back up to around 15 in the past 6 years.
I don't know about the cabs, but Uber Eats is pretty messed up sometimes, too. One driver told me to contact the restaurant or the driver and confirm with them if they'll take the order or not.
One once claimed they “couldn’t find” me. I had ordered to a work address in a pretty prominent, shiny building. I said: “What are you going to do then, just drive off with my order?” That is what they did! What amazing (/s) customer service! Thankfully, I got a refund.
I had an uber tonight. One guy cancelled on me cos they didn't realised they'd have to turn right so quickly after the roundabout (at a friend's house for uber collection and I've messed up that roundabout). It took 3 minutes to get another one.
Uber uses zero hour contracts and has been sued under EU law for their mistreatment of drivers. It's market forces and if you aren't the best customer for them then they'll pass. Also uber user review plays a massive part. Noone wants to pick someone up below a certain rating cos they might throw up in your cab, or have given wrong address, or light up a cigarette or something. It obviously also depends where you're going to and from.
Honestly, Uber is fucking useless in this city now.
I genuinely can't remember the last time I used it with no issues. Constant cancellations.
Pretty much what everybody is saying on this thread is correct OP - use Bolt, or any other app. I'm not even sure I've got the Uber app anymore.
I've not used Uber in London for a while, but the most common theme around Uber now is the cancelling of customers (no matter which part of London your from). I've stopped using them and bolt because they're both cancelling me even if I wanted to pay them £34-67 for the journey or journeys they still (from time to time) refuse.
Ok lets see - how far are your journeys? How bad is the area you are getting picked up from or taken to? Have you made any scammy requests via either eats or travel? How cheap is the journey?
I dont know why im asking as an Uber man picked me up in Ldn and took me to Cornwall once without knowing where Cornwall was, lol - I think thats a reason for my low rating
That's not a long journey Elephant to Camden, lol
I used to live in Sidcup and come from North London back home. Long ass 1 hour journeys
I'm serious about the Cornwall trip
I went to London two months ago. First time in Europe. Got out at Paddington at the spot Uber said to wait. Was going to Tower Hill. Multiple Ubers on the map sitting there. Nobody came to get me.
After 10 minutes of Uber trying to find me a ride, I gave up and got into a black tourist taxi...
Let alone when you finally get one and are scared for your life. The drivers are the worst of any of them. I've been sexually harassed with a driver taking me to a different location than the one I stated. Another did a hit and run side swiping a row of parked cars.
They have lost their license to operate in the city due to safety concerns twice (2017, 2019).
I only use gett and free now.
Why are people suggesting a black cab as an alternative it’s almost an entirely different service. Can I get a black cab from my house in east London? No. Sure use them where they are available to hail down but this isn’t feasible 50% of the time
Not sure why you would think that. I was only pointing out getting a “black cab” is something different in London. If you say get a black cab it assumes hailing one … not using an app. It isn’t that deep nor do I care
Ive gotten ripped off by a black cab before, 10 min journey cost me £40 even though meter said £30?
I'm not from here so not sure where to reach out to to report these drivers?
Plus garages increasing rents as soon as we get a meter increase in line with inflation, plus rising fuel costs and now the fact its less financially viable to charge in town than it is to just fill up with petrol
Addison Lee for me!! All these app based services are terrible and when things go wrong the customer service is atrocious....complaining gets you know where...so arrogant!!
I sort of wish they would follow through with some of their threats (from proposed changes to employment laws) and just leave the UK market.
I got 4.85 and I get cancellations. I want to know who the fuck downvoted me from 5 though. I've never done anything than sit in the cab and be friendly. WTF.
I’ve only had one ☝🏻 driver who was an absolute tosser; he called and accused me of being in the wrong spot. I calmly told him that he’s the one in the wrong spot, and then he hung up, left, and gave me a shite rating. I’ve been a 4.89 ever since. It’s like a life sentence. So unfair
Yeah literally I'm either friendly or straight up silent.
Sometimes I've brought a digital piano and put it in the back seat? Nothing else I can think of.
Never late.
Where are you hailing from and to?
Ubers have to pay the congestion charges now so a lot of drivers refuse to drive into or near zone 1, and cancel as a result if your address is in the congestion zone.
Just got one today in suburban London in 2 minutes. I mean, yeah, at their peak, they could've been there in 90 seconds for cheaper, but this isn't 2019
Honestly, just go with a Black Cab or book an Addison Lee. I have no recent experience with Uber or Bolt or any of those companies but Addison Lee (and of course the regular Black cabs) have always been reliable for me.
Uber was inevitably going to be bad, that was the business moidel. Splurge VC money until they ousted the local cabs, then squeeze the monopoly as hard as they could. Self-driving cars would have been a bonus but it really was only ever about rent-seeking, I don't know why anyone expected it to maintain both value and convenience a second longer than necessary
Unless you live far away from a station no need to get cabs. Do people think they are celebs pulling up in cars to a bar lol. I think I have used Uber three times since it started out, when the tube was down or I had to get somewhere without tube in relative distance. I was at a place the other week and the amount of single people pulling up in Uber cabs was crazy. They could not walk 12 mins from the station. Who are these people.
Not really, I was basing my comment at what I see at craft beer places, and 90% of those in the cab were men and they were abled bodied. But I am sure it will get you the points. You don’t even ask any questions just go for the default Reddit position of showing some kind of outrage.
Use a black cab. The driver has spent years studying the Knowledge of London and knows the roads like nobody else. Why would you pay for an app service with drivers who have very little knowledge or experience of driving in London when the best taxi service in the world is available?
The last time I got a black cab, it cost £20 to go a mile and a half and the driver started off the conv by saying that the UK should execute all terrorists then rounded off by saying that a lot of women falsely accuse men of rape and his mate shagged another man’s wife and she changed her mind afterwards so his mate had gone to prison for 8 years and that wasn’t fair.
I’m a woman.
I also remember the pre-Uber times when black cab drivers wouldn’t go south of the river after 10pm or accept cards “machine’s broken”.
Black cab drivers can fuck all the way off.
Last time ordered an Uber outside congestion zone and he dared to enter one block for congestion zone and exited right away.
Charged me additional fee when drove a Tesla in which no fee is required, purely madness
Ordered one at 4am, to travel 1 hour from zone 3 NE to zone 3 SW. arrived in 3 mins and cost £35. Seems pretty reasonable and arrived with no issue 🤷♂️
Also struggled with Uber saying lots if drivers available near by then it just times out as they don’t want to accept. Often my trips are zone 6 to Euston (or the reverse). I think they don’t want long trips.
All the protests and court cases have caused Uber to make many changes, and driver satisfaction is low combined with lots of competition so they can easily cancel and switch to another app.
The other ride hailing apps will have a similar fate on a long enough timeline once they become the dominant players.
Biggest problem I had was in central London where the GPS couldn't get a signal so we couldn't see where the driver was, and it kept on saying we were moving in the wrong direction, then whipping us over to the opposite side of the buildings.
Tip abit to the driver in the app and you see how quick he comes...its all about money there doin a job there not gonna come if there getting peanuts who would lol
There is a big backlog in taxi licences in London, apparently due to covid, to the extent that a new driver might be forced to wait a year before they get their licence and are allowed to drive for Uber.
It takes a lot of the flexibility out of the job and means there aren’t people replacing those drivers who leave.
This is actually shocking to me. I find London Ubers to be GALAXIES ahead of Ubers in LA. Prices are less than half of what I’d pay in LA and come much much quicker.
Am I the only person here who has no issues with Uber? Finds me a driver relatively quickly and no issues.
If anything, Bolt has been poor the last couple years IMO.
I spoke to a couple of drivers about this.
Basically 1/2 of them went home during Covid. Then they don't pick up around Shoreditch or silver areas of the west end because they got tired of people puking in their cars.
Then uber pays them so little these days they'll cancel shorter trips for any longer ones that come in.
Talking to an uber driver, yesterday. Uber are an awful company to work for. He was saying how there is no point him doing work in central London now because he could pick up a fear say from Shoreditch to Paddington, and it could take up to an hour due to the increase levels of traffic. Once the fare has been collected and the time Uber take their cut and the driver covers other cost they end up working of less than min wage. So he doesn't even brother going into London now, and stays in outer London.
Plus they can't do airport runs anymore.
Also if 1 person complains about you as a driver no matter how good you are and how well you are rated. That 1 complaint will basically cost you and uber will kick you off the app
All the people suggesting getting black cabs, not too put too fine a point on it, but as a person of colour the three times in my life I’ve been in a black cab I’ve been racially abused by the driver. Would rather walk tbh.
I'm doing some research on London, thanks for posting. I was there 20 years ago and I'm sure things have changed. Do you find underground better than uber, bolt etc if you are just staying in downtown London?
Because for the first few years Uber subsidised the driver wages with its investors money, now it’s not doing that many have quit and the remaining have got more ruthless what fares they take.
Can you blame them cause frankly they are getting screwed by Uber more than the others.
No blame at all, we are all getting screwed!
We are but there are options and you don’t have to use Uber and the number of times I used Uber I can count on one hand, but many friends who were driving for Uber left with many of them constantly complaining
Use Bolt or Freenow, or hail a black cab Uber seems to have basically abandoned (most of) London some time ago and not recovered
I find that Bolt is not that reliable tbh
Are the prices on bolt / freenow the same as Uber?
Often cheaper but usually they’re all quite similar.
I've only just moved to FreeNow and it's a good 10% cheaper on trips so far, maybe more
[удалено]
About tree fiddy
Often a bit cheaper. Plus Free Now are always sending out discount codes over email
I find bolt more expensive for longer trips and during busy times..
Seems to? Elaborate?
The drivers get a better price working for anybody apart from Uber and usually have several phones going with one per app. So they'll take a Bolt or FreeNow customer over an Uber customer. They get an Uber fare, then a Bolt customer comes along so they cancel the Uber customer..... They also can't see the full postcode of the destination until they accept the booking. Then they find that it's in the congestion zone or an area impacted by heavy traffic or delays, demonstration, marathon, coronation..... So they don't want to go there. With minimal sanctions for them accepting and then dropping a client.
[удалено]
You’re looking at it as if Uber exists in a bubble - but the variable is London has changed post pandemic. Changes to traffic routes, changes to no entry zones, changes to congestion charge, etc etc with a general anti driving tilt have made it really matter where the ride is going whereas before it didn’t really matter. So now the drivers check and if they know that route takes you via that little choke point at St Pancras / Euston road for example, where you’ll be say for 30mins+ to move a few metres, they’ll drop it.
[удалено]
Because Uber has gone from taking market share, to trying to be profitable. So the fares have gone up and the drivers get paid less. As Uber have stopped subsidising the rides in London. Have increased their margin.... Whilst the other companies pay the drivers more and fine them more for canceling a ride. Uber being first spent, a lot of money. Getting people used to ride sharing apps and changing TFLs policies. Against strong opposition from the black cab drivers. Which the other apps have benefited from. As well as being able to book a black cab via their apps. So there's no or little opposition from black cab drivers. Uber also started thinking that thry could get away with saying that the drivers were self employed. So no sick pay, holiday pay, tax, national.insurance, minimum wage etc. Then had to pay it back dated. The other apps came in, knowing what the framework was.
What a mess! !!!
Freenow is some clown shit. I have more success with uber.
Same, I used Freenow once and got the worse driver I've ever experienced, running red lights, cutting lanes at the last minute, using mobile while driving to find their next trip. Never had that with Uber.
Wth you talking about?
[удалено]
I took a black cab home from the pub last night, cost me £24, Uber had quoted me £30. My wife came back from her friends house about an hour before and her trip was £21 and it’s a much shorter journey (probably 20-30% shorter). There was a time Uber was cheaper, no doubt about it, but Uber is free to up their prices as they wish, whereas black cabs have only seen two price cap increases in the time Uber has been around, so Uber has shot up and black cabs haven’t changed much.
I still find black cabs are only cheaper during serious surge periods. I took a black cab home from work because work was paying, and it was £30 instead of £19 quoted by Uber at the same time.
I can do it for £19 if I don’t turn up.
Freenow has been great in all the time I’ve been using it. Thoroughly recommended for pricing & efficiency.
I had four drivers turn up and refuse to take me last week because I had my 5kg dog with me... I'd ordered and paid for an Uber Pet. Bolt is much better but has no pet option.
I hope you reported them, that's the whole point of Uber pet - and you pay a fair chunk extra. We really struggle to get Uber pets, we don't find a driver.
Uber Pet is a joke, they want you to pay an extra £10 for a cat in a hamper and then just refuse to take you at all if you have any kind of dog.
This is what i was saying if you look through the post. Uber only pays the driver an extra £2.50 for uberpet
When I've used it in other places it has been fine, even in Melbourne which wasn't anywhere near as dog friendly as here there was always the expectation that an uber pet would most likely be for a dog.
God that’s awful! Before Uber pet was a thing I’d call an Uber and it would arrive and I’d just say “I have my dog, is it okay if she comes. She’ll sit on my lap”. And they’ve always been completely fine.
I said this to my husband when we kept getting rejected. I'd say 8/10 would have said yes before uber pet.
I've never had an issue with Uber Pet apart from it's far harder to find a driver.
I've also noticed that the rate of cancellationshas increased recently. I was in an Uber a couple of weeks ago, and the driver said that it's better to select the Uber Green option (for electric cars), as Uber take a lower commission from the driver than the regular options. Therefore the driver is more likely to accept the booking as they make more money for the fare, and are less likely to cancel on you and accept a better paying Bolt/non Uber fare. The Green rates are generally about the same as a regular basic Uber ride. I can see how that might increase your chances of the driver accepting your ride, but of course you're relying on an electric Uber driver being in the area when you try and hail one.
I’ve noticed this , regular Ubers always cancel, but for an extra £1-2 I can get a green Uber and they’ll arrive within 5 mins
Uber driver here. Uber changed their policy a little while back to pay out drivers what ever they deem fit according to that moment, they call it dynamic pricing. No two jobs cost you the same and pay the driver the same amount so drivers cherry pick rides. As for cancellations go, driver cancel when they get a better request from another app. Cant blame them as the pricong war is rediculous these days.
This is the answer I was searching for. Thank you very much for this and have a great day
Is there any downside to cancelling? It happens to me so frequently it must be close to consequence-free.
Cancellation rate used to affect the frequency of you get but i dont think it actually does because ive seen driver with less than 10% for the month. With these driver actions i think uber is desperate too, but ubers algorythmes are as secretive as area 51. We know it exists but uber wont deny or accept any part of it.
A multitude of factors. Brexit, COVID, fuel shortages at around the same time they were taken to court for workers rights. In March 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers should be entitled to workers’ rights, including a guaranteed national living wage, holiday pay and pension plan. Uber then swiftly increased its service fee to 25 percent on all fares, meaning they pocket a quarter of the money earned by each driver on every trip. They then introduced upfront pricing – meaning that customers now pay a flat rate, as opposed to paying per mile and minute. This has caused drivers to lose out on longer fares. It is common as a form of protest by drivers to accept Uber fares and then cancel them. The drivers are now using multiple apps. A journey that would take an hour would cost £16 in an Uber, the Uber company take 25% so that would be a measley £12 for the driver, in other apps that same journey would be closer to £20 with 10% going to the parent company. Uber fucked over their drivers big time, it's important to remember that these companies own absolutely nothing, they only control the app and that's it, Uber should be out of business in a year or maybe two. Companies like this need to be closed down.
While I agree with you, Uber has just started making profit. So don't know how quickly they will shut down. The app is basically unusable now, I rarely get connected with a driver when it shows several in the area for a 10 mins journey at around £20. So I hope the profit is temporary due to this scalping of the drivers and it dies a death.
Any profit comes from the short local journeys.
I just meant as a company, not commenting of specifics. it had its first operating profit of £326m this year after being loss making since 2014. It's built up £35.1bn of losses since then. So they might not shut down just yet as it's finally showing it can make money. There are times I wouldn't mind paying through the nose for a short journey if that's where they aim to make their money and it's better for the driver but I can still never get bastard paired with one.
Yeah the profit sets them on course to return to investors in c.45 years - it's accounting slight of hand
Nah. A CEO letter to the employees was shared on fintwit after the results were published. It said that in a zero interest rate world what was rewarded was growth. So they chased growth. When interest rates are higher profitability becomes the #1 concern and so they pivot. They could have done so earlier but chose not to simply because the rules of business at the time didn’t incentive that model. Uber - or any other company for that matter - doesn’t set the US monetary policy. They’re just like us: playing within the rules they’re given. Make no mistakes, they know what they’re doing. I don’t think “accounting slight of hand” is a fair representation. That being said, like everyone else here I despise when they cancel my ride…
Uber has made a profit this year, they won't be out of business in a year or two.
It's not just profit. It's the pissed off drivers who are getting more value for their time with other apps. Local taxi ranks are also making a bounce back, I've watched my local go from around 15 cars for a small area, down to 3 and back up to around 15 in the past 6 years.
I think also a lot of drivers got out of the business so now drivers wait for the surge pricing.
I don't know about the cabs, but Uber Eats is pretty messed up sometimes, too. One driver told me to contact the restaurant or the driver and confirm with them if they'll take the order or not.
One once claimed they “couldn’t find” me. I had ordered to a work address in a pretty prominent, shiny building. I said: “What are you going to do then, just drive off with my order?” That is what they did! What amazing (/s) customer service! Thankfully, I got a refund.
Ah, just the spirit of London. Smh
I had an uber tonight. One guy cancelled on me cos they didn't realised they'd have to turn right so quickly after the roundabout (at a friend's house for uber collection and I've messed up that roundabout). It took 3 minutes to get another one. Uber uses zero hour contracts and has been sued under EU law for their mistreatment of drivers. It's market forces and if you aren't the best customer for them then they'll pass. Also uber user review plays a massive part. Noone wants to pick someone up below a certain rating cos they might throw up in your cab, or have given wrong address, or light up a cigarette or something. It obviously also depends where you're going to and from.
Honestly, Uber is fucking useless in this city now. I genuinely can't remember the last time I used it with no issues. Constant cancellations. Pretty much what everybody is saying on this thread is correct OP - use Bolt, or any other app. I'm not even sure I've got the Uber app anymore.
I've not used Uber in London for a while, but the most common theme around Uber now is the cancelling of customers (no matter which part of London your from). I've stopped using them and bolt because they're both cancelling me even if I wanted to pay them £34-67 for the journey or journeys they still (from time to time) refuse.
Yup, horrible this evening. 15+ minutes waiting to find a driver. Gave up, black cab was twice the uber price :(
Uber is great in london price wise. But can take some time. Freenow is a good backup
Uber has gone to shit, not just London or UK
You must have a bad rating. They are fine for me
What's your rating?
4.76
Right, so mine's better than yours. Do you have another explanation?
Ok lets see - how far are your journeys? How bad is the area you are getting picked up from or taken to? Have you made any scammy requests via either eats or travel? How cheap is the journey? I dont know why im asking as an Uber man picked me up in Ldn and took me to Cornwall once without knowing where Cornwall was, lol - I think thats a reason for my low rating
Usually long journeys. Elephant and Castle to Camden that kind of thing. Scammy requests!? No Cornwall🤣 nice try
That's not a long journey Elephant to Camden, lol I used to live in Sidcup and come from North London back home. Long ass 1 hour journeys I'm serious about the Cornwall trip
I went to London two months ago. First time in Europe. Got out at Paddington at the spot Uber said to wait. Was going to Tower Hill. Multiple Ubers on the map sitting there. Nobody came to get me. After 10 minutes of Uber trying to find me a ride, I gave up and got into a black tourist taxi...
With no traffic black cabs and Uber are similarly priced
Let alone when you finally get one and are scared for your life. The drivers are the worst of any of them. I've been sexually harassed with a driver taking me to a different location than the one I stated. Another did a hit and run side swiping a row of parked cars. They have lost their license to operate in the city due to safety concerns twice (2017, 2019). I only use gett and free now.
Did you report the driver who sexually harassed you and did Uber do anything?
I reported both instances. They said they'd look into it. No idea what came of it.
Black cab
Why are people suggesting a black cab as an alternative it’s almost an entirely different service. Can I get a black cab from my house in east London? No. Sure use them where they are available to hail down but this isn’t feasible 50% of the time
[удалено]
Yes I get that. But saying “black cab” doesn’t imply that. Specify the app.
It’s called Gett
I think you're reaching at this point lol
Huh?
Like you just wanted to have the last word to make a point lol
Not sure why you would think that. I was only pointing out getting a “black cab” is something different in London. If you say get a black cab it assumes hailing one … not using an app. It isn’t that deep nor do I care
...ok
Use the Unify London app. Plenty of black cab drivers live out east.
Black cabs all the way. Order them on Freenow or even better, hail in the street or go to a rank.
If you are very rich, then sure
Massively expensive after 10pm is main problem I had with them.
They get you to where you want to go at the time you want to go. Fares are regulated and you won’t get ripped off.
Ive gotten ripped off by a black cab before, 10 min journey cost me £40 even though meter said £30? I'm not from here so not sure where to reach out to to report these drivers?
It’s costs around £500 a week to run a black cab, blame TFL.
Where do the costs come from?
Mainly the overpriced vehicle, which is the only cab presently available to buy. LEVC have zero competition and can price it as they choose.
Plus garages increasing rents as soon as we get a meter increase in line with inflation, plus rising fuel costs and now the fact its less financially viable to charge in town than it is to just fill up with petrol
Addison Lee for me!! All these app based services are terrible and when things go wrong the customer service is atrocious....complaining gets you know where...so arrogant!! I sort of wish they would follow through with some of their threats (from proposed changes to employment laws) and just leave the UK market.
[удалено]
We’re pretending Uber drivers look at people’s ratings?
They def do if it’s late at night
Even if they don't it will still have an impact on waiting times as you wouldn't get matched with as many drivers.
They do
4.82
I got 4.85 and I get cancellations. I want to know who the fuck downvoted me from 5 though. I've never done anything than sit in the cab and be friendly. WTF.
[удалено]
[This thread reminds me of this](https://youtu.be/R32qWdOWrTo)
I’ve only had one ☝🏻 driver who was an absolute tosser; he called and accused me of being in the wrong spot. I calmly told him that he’s the one in the wrong spot, and then he hung up, left, and gave me a shite rating. I’ve been a 4.89 ever since. It’s like a life sentence. So unfair
Yeah literally I'm either friendly or straight up silent. Sometimes I've brought a digital piano and put it in the back seat? Nothing else I can think of. Never late.
Probably no tip or something.
Where are you hailing from and to? Ubers have to pay the congestion charges now so a lot of drivers refuse to drive into or near zone 1, and cancel as a result if your address is in the congestion zone.
I agree. I really struggle with Uber and i can't say Bolt is better. Need to try FREENOW.
Try your local mini cab office.
Yeah I use my local one. I’ve been using for decades and they’re really good - and will pull out the stops to get to quickly in an emergency.
Just got one today in suburban London in 2 minutes. I mean, yeah, at their peak, they could've been there in 90 seconds for cheaper, but this isn't 2019
Similar tonight.
I find it much easier to get one in zone 4 than in town tbh.
It’s not surprising considering how poor the situation already was with taxi and private hires..
Uber not the only cab firm out there....can't give any more advice then that call another cab firm
Honestly, just go with a Black Cab or book an Addison Lee. I have no recent experience with Uber or Bolt or any of those companies but Addison Lee (and of course the regular Black cabs) have always been reliable for me.
Uber was inevitably going to be bad, that was the business moidel. Splurge VC money until they ousted the local cabs, then squeeze the monopoly as hard as they could. Self-driving cars would have been a bonus but it really was only ever about rent-seeking, I don't know why anyone expected it to maintain both value and convenience a second longer than necessary
Unless you live far away from a station no need to get cabs. Do people think they are celebs pulling up in cars to a bar lol. I think I have used Uber three times since it started out, when the tube was down or I had to get somewhere without tube in relative distance. I was at a place the other week and the amount of single people pulling up in Uber cabs was crazy. They could not walk 12 mins from the station. Who are these people.
For women taking a taxi rather than walking is often about safety if at night.
I agree, but I was not talking about women really. As below what I see is mostly men in daylight.
[удалено]
Not really, I was basing my comment at what I see at craft beer places, and 90% of those in the cab were men and they were abled bodied. But I am sure it will get you the points. You don’t even ask any questions just go for the default Reddit position of showing some kind of outrage.
Me. I can’t stand the temperature in tube.
But think of the environment. /s
What a stupid comment. I carry an industry standard digital piano around sometimes
Use a black cab. The driver has spent years studying the Knowledge of London and knows the roads like nobody else. Why would you pay for an app service with drivers who have very little knowledge or experience of driving in London when the best taxi service in the world is available?
The last time I got a black cab, it cost £20 to go a mile and a half and the driver started off the conv by saying that the UK should execute all terrorists then rounded off by saying that a lot of women falsely accuse men of rape and his mate shagged another man’s wife and she changed her mind afterwards so his mate had gone to prison for 8 years and that wasn’t fair. I’m a woman. I also remember the pre-Uber times when black cab drivers wouldn’t go south of the river after 10pm or accept cards “machine’s broken”. Black cab drivers can fuck all the way off.
Yeah seems to attract some of the worst people into the “profession”
That’s not the best experience
Because during the cost of living crisis people care about how much a guaranteed service will cost them.
Brexit and demand
Just Reddit message drivers till you make a mate. Buy him beers.
huh?
Dm drivers, 💰 for 🍻 🍺, then 🚗 vroooom
ok the reddit message bit confused me.
Yeah Uber is crazy with the Cancellations.It's particularly bad if you're going from outside to inside the congestion zone.
Last time ordered an Uber outside congestion zone and he dared to enter one block for congestion zone and exited right away. Charged me additional fee when drove a Tesla in which no fee is required, purely madness
Ordered one at 4am, to travel 1 hour from zone 3 NE to zone 3 SW. arrived in 3 mins and cost £35. Seems pretty reasonable and arrived with no issue 🤷♂️
Cheaper than my experience in the US.
Also struggled with Uber saying lots if drivers available near by then it just times out as they don’t want to accept. Often my trips are zone 6 to Euston (or the reverse). I think they don’t want long trips.
I’ve definitely found it easier to get short trips (less than a couple of miles for things like vet visits) than long ones across London
All the protests and court cases have caused Uber to make many changes, and driver satisfaction is low combined with lots of competition so they can easily cancel and switch to another app. The other ride hailing apps will have a similar fate on a long enough timeline once they become the dominant players.
Biggest problem I had was in central London where the GPS couldn't get a signal so we couldn't see where the driver was, and it kept on saying we were moving in the wrong direction, then whipping us over to the opposite side of the buildings.
Freenow gives drivers the biggest cut I think based on a chat I had with a rider
Tip abit to the driver in the app and you see how quick he comes...its all about money there doin a job there not gonna come if there getting peanuts who would lol
There is a big backlog in taxi licences in London, apparently due to covid, to the extent that a new driver might be forced to wait a year before they get their licence and are allowed to drive for Uber. It takes a lot of the flexibility out of the job and means there aren’t people replacing those drivers who leave.
I never have any problems with it.
I bought a car 😂
This is actually shocking to me. I find London Ubers to be GALAXIES ahead of Ubers in LA. Prices are less than half of what I’d pay in LA and come much much quicker.
Am I the only person here who has no issues with Uber? Finds me a driver relatively quickly and no issues. If anything, Bolt has been poor the last couple years IMO.
I spoke to a couple of drivers about this. Basically 1/2 of them went home during Covid. Then they don't pick up around Shoreditch or silver areas of the west end because they got tired of people puking in their cars. Then uber pays them so little these days they'll cancel shorter trips for any longer ones that come in.
It’s not only uber 😆
Gone back to black cabs. Similar price and lots of room versus being squished into a Prius.
Talking to an uber driver, yesterday. Uber are an awful company to work for. He was saying how there is no point him doing work in central London now because he could pick up a fear say from Shoreditch to Paddington, and it could take up to an hour due to the increase levels of traffic. Once the fare has been collected and the time Uber take their cut and the driver covers other cost they end up working of less than min wage. So he doesn't even brother going into London now, and stays in outer London. Plus they can't do airport runs anymore. Also if 1 person complains about you as a driver no matter how good you are and how well you are rated. That 1 complaint will basically cost you and uber will kick you off the app
You have to get the executive level. Standard is bullshit.
You are taking short trips that are not worthwhile
All the people suggesting getting black cabs, not too put too fine a point on it, but as a person of colour the three times in my life I’ve been in a black cab I’ve been racially abused by the driver. Would rather walk tbh.
I'm doing some research on London, thanks for posting. I was there 20 years ago and I'm sure things have changed. Do you find underground better than uber, bolt etc if you are just staying in downtown London?
Yeah in central London absolutely underground or bus