In message , at
05:01:26 on Mon, 5 Oct 2015, remarked:
Of course, but you did seem to present Google Maps as a better answer.

It's an acceptable answer, I'd say.

FSVO...

But it fails and/or misleads, aside from being unavailable at some times
to some people.

Right, but the context here is arranging a journey by Uber. Under what
circumstances is it possible to order a car from Uber but be unable to
check the route via Apple or Google maps?

When the destination isn't mapped, or is mapped incorrectly.

There's nothing wrong, on the face of it, with a minicab company
externalising much of its 'local knowledge' to the passengers, as long
as we understand it won't work for everyone. And that's before we look
at the Digital Divide and possible disadvantages to people looking for
timely and affordable traditional solutions.
--
Roland Perry

On 10/5/2015 1:17 PM, JNugent wrote:
On 05/10/2015 09:18, Someone Somewhere wrote:
On 10/4/2015 2:10 PM, JNugent wrote:
On 03/10/2015 09:07, Someone Somewhere wrote:
Seriously?

Because a taxi is - in its very essence - a *private* space which
can be
hired by the passenger to the exclusion of others. It is not a bus.
If a
bus is what is wanted, buses are available.


What? There's a bus that takes me from Heathrow to outside my house in
Shadwell?

Provided you're willing to change a few times, yes.


More times than the TfL planner can cope with to get outside my house.

That's a problem you have with buses. Not everyone has it.

Given the shortest possible bus route from Heathrow is over 3 hours, and
that includes a 25 minute walk at the end of it (which would be fun with
luggage) and 4 separate buses makes it utterly impractical when most
other forms of transport are roughly an hour. It's also hardly like I
live somewhere obscure or hard to reach. It seems impossible to get the
journey planner to actually generate a journey that ends at my local bus
stop.

The fact that you do is not a good reason for disrupting the
legitimate livelihood of others.

When you say "the legitimate livelihood" you mean the level of
protectionism built in by law to prevent people making a choice of
whether to share a vehicle or hire one entirely to themselves where
sharing is better for the passengers pocket, the environment and other
road users?

I have to say that I have in fact shared a taxi, with strangers, from at
least 3 major London airports.

On Sun, Oct 04, 2015 at 05:21:04PM -0500, wrote:
In article ,
(Neil Williams) wrote:
The passenger would still decide on it, they just would get the
option to say "find me some people to share with to keep my journey
cost down" to the operator, rather than them having to arrange the
share themselves.
We couldn't find a mechanism to manage this, even from the station with its
legendary taxi queues.

TfL staff manage to do it at central London stations occasionally, so
there's no reason that their Cambridge equivalent couldn't, or that the
local taxi companies couldn't find people to do it for their drivers.

--
David Cantrell | Bourgeois reactionary pig

comparative and superlative explained:

Huhn worse, worser, worsest, worsted, wasted

On Sun, Oct 04, 2015 at 10:34:57PM +0100, JNugent wrote:
On 04/10/2015 20:32, Neil Williams wrote:
On 2015-10-04 16:58:23 +0000, JNugent said:
There is no such thing as a mini cab.
"Minicab" is a common London term for a private-hire car (that isn't a
premium one).
There is no such thing as a mini cab.

http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/234043
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/taxis-and-minicabs/

Forgive me if I take their word for it over yours.

--
David Cantrell | Hero of the Information Age

Disappointment:
n: No results found for "priapic dwarf custard wrestling".

On Sun, Oct 04, 2015 at 06:14:58PM +0200, Eric wrote:
On 2015-10-04, Neil Williams wrote:
On 2015-10-04 14:49:57 +0000, Eric said:
It has been known to get addresses wrong or fail to find them entirely.
So have taxi drivers.
Of course, but you did seem to present Google Maps as a better answer.

In my experience it *is* a better answer.

--
David Cantrell | http://www.cantrell.org.uk/david

fdisk format reinstall, doo-dah, doo-dah;
fdisk format reinstall, it's the Windows way

On Sun, Oct 04, 2015 at 05:08:41PM +0100, Roland Perry wrote:
at 15:16:43 on Sun, 4 Oct 2015, Recliner remarked:
It wouldn't be at all surprising if they lurk near places with high demand.
Except it causes traffic congestion because they park in awkward places.

Blame the police for not properly enforcing parking restrictions then,
or the local authority for not properly implementing parking
restrictions.

--
David Cantrell | London Perl Mongers Deputy Chief Heretic

Nuke a disabled unborn gay baby whale for JESUS!

On Sun, Oct 04, 2015 at 09:54:30PM +0100, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 20:31:02 on Sun, 4 Oct
2015, Neil Williams remarked:
Yes, and thousands of them are "moved on". Better for them not to be
causing the anti-social menace in the first place.
How do you propose to stop them? Even with the 5 minute "delay" they
will still no doubt wait in places where they are near to a likely job.
It'll dramatically reduce the touting and plying for hire.

If anything it would increase it. Customers don't want to be forced to
pointlessly wait so would be more inclined to go with a driver offering
an illegal service. I certainly would.

--
David Cantrell | Godless Liberal Elitist

Aluminum makes a nice hat.
All paranoids will tell you that.
But what most do not know
Is reflections will show
On the CIA's evil landsat.

In message , at 14:38:01
on Mon, 5 Oct 2015, David Cantrell remarked:

Yes, and thousands of them are "moved on". Better for them not to be
causing the anti-social menace in the first place.
How do you propose to stop them? Even with the 5 minute "delay" they
will still no doubt wait in places where they are near to a likely job.

It'll dramatically reduce the touting and plying for hire.

If anything it would increase it. Customers don't want to be forced to
pointlessly wait so would be more inclined to go with a driver offering
an illegal service. I certainly would.

Depends when you think people order a Uber. Is it when they are stood on
the pavement outside the venue in the pouring rain, or perhaps five
minutes earlier when they are inside in the warm and can more
comfortably use their phone to order a car to arrive in five minute's
time?
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 14:34:05
on Mon, 5 Oct 2015, David Cantrell remarked:

It wouldn't be at all surprising if they lurk near places with high demand.
Except it causes traffic congestion because they park in awkward places.

Blame the police for not properly enforcing parking restrictions then,
or the local authority for not properly implementing parking
restrictions.

Policing parking in most of the country is no longer the police's job.

The parking restrictions are implemented "properly" (signage, yellow
lines and so on), the problem is people ignoring it all unless there's
an enforcer within twenty feet.
--
Roland Perry

On 05/10/2015 14:10, Someone Somewhere wrote:
On 10/5/2015 1:17 PM, JNugent wrote:
On 05/10/2015 09:18, Someone Somewhere wrote:
On 10/4/2015 2:10 PM, JNugent wrote:
On 03/10/2015 09:07, Someone Somewhere wrote:
Seriously?

Because a taxi is - in its very essence - a *private* space which
can be
hired by the passenger to the exclusion of others. It is not a bus.
If a
bus is what is wanted, buses are available.


What? There's a bus that takes me from Heathrow to outside my
house in
Shadwell?

Provided you're willing to change a few times, yes.


More times than the TfL planner can cope with to get outside my house.

That's a problem you have with buses. Not everyone has it.

Given the shortest possible bus route from Heathrow is over 3 hours, and
that includes a 25 minute walk at the end of it (which would be fun with
luggage) and 4 separate buses makes it utterly impractical when most
other forms of transport are roughly an hour. It's also hardly like I
live somewhere obscure or hard to reach. It seems impossible to get the
journey planner to actually generate a journey that ends at my local bus
stop.

Clearly, with a service bus time of about three hours to LHR, you are
somewhere in the broadly London area. But why leave it at just arguing
about journey times to Heathrow? Why don't you check out the bus journey
times to Ringway or Leeds-Bradford, or maybe to Prestwick?

The fact that your particular journey is awkward or time-consuming is a
matter for you, not for others.

The fact that you do is not a good reason for disrupting the
legitimate livelihood of others.

When you say "the legitimate livelihood" you mean the level of
protectionism built in by law to prevent people making a choice of
whether to share a vehicle or hire one entirely to themselves where
sharing is better for the passengers pocket, the environment and other
road users?

How many times do I have to tell you this before it sinks in?

You DO have the right to share a taxi, or a pirate car, if that's what
you want to do.

I have to say that I have in fact shared a taxi, with strangers, from at
least 3 major London airports.

So it works. And that's under the law as it is today (where apparently,
a "level of protectionism built in by law to prevent people making a
choice of whether to share a vehicle or hire one entirely to themselves
where sharing is better for the passengers pocket, the environment and
other road users").

So what's the complaint?