London Banter - View Single Post

Roland Perry · April 4th 17, 08:05 AM posted to uk.transport.london

In message , at 02:42:33
on Tue, 4 Apr 2017, remarked:

I'm sorry but you've made the mistake. Uber's customers are the
passengers because Uber debit their credit cards. The passengers
do not pay the drivers.

You misunderstand the nature of Internet intermediaries.

If it was as you say, then there would be no doubt whatsoever that
Uber as a transportion company and the drivers were employees. Uber
deny both vociferously.

When you buy something online from a retailer, and they charge you
via your credit card and Worldpay, you are in no sense a customer of
Worldpay. They are just a collecting agency, and to the extent that
the fares go from you to Uber to the driver, then they are just a
money collecting agency.

Where it starts getting mucky is that they are also a booking agency,
and just as you don't expect Amazon to be letting people sell
handguns and child abuse images on their platform, you shouldn't be
expecting Uber to match you up with an unlicenced or uninsured driver.

To take hire car bookings in the UK Uber have to be an operator as well.
That is an activity that has to licensed by a local authority and they have
obligations, especially to keep records of hirings.

The loophole seems to be the way they take bookings, but then outsource
the driving to subcontractors.
--
Roland Perry