Taxi drivers protest outside TfL
 

"David Walters" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 18 Oct 2016 10:37:37 +0000 (UTC), d
wrote:
On Tue, 18 Oct 2016 10:49:55 +0100
David Walters wrote:
On Tue, 18 Oct 2016 08:34:29 +0000 (UTC), d
wrote:
Lots of noise and blocked traffic when I walked past yesterday in
Southwark.
Anyone know what they're protesting about this week? Is it Uber, fares,
or
they just don't like TfL in general?

There was a leaflet picture tweeted at
https://twitter.com/blacktaxicab/sta...30762549383168

Some of it sounds reasonable - if true, which is a big if - but others...

Cutting Taxi earnings by up to five percent, on card transactions.

I bet thats the card companies skimming their commission and nothing to
do
with TfL.

I'm not sure if it has happened already or not but TfL want the fare
paid to be the same regardless of cash or card with no surcharge.
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/pr...y-london-taxis

That's not unreasonable, but CC charges are not 5%

so what's the beef here?

tim

Taxi drivers protest outside TfL
 

On Tue, 18 Oct 2016 14:02:33 +0100
"tim..." wrote:
"David Walters" wrote in message
I'm not sure if it has happened already or not but TfL want the fare
paid to be the same regardless of cash or card with no surcharge.

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/pr...yor-and-tfl-co
firm-card-and-contactless-payments-will-be-accepted-by-london-taxis

That's not unreasonable, but CC charges are not 5%

They're 0% in most shops. You don't expect to pay more for your shopping at
Tesco if you use a CC rather than debit or cash. The supermarket swallows the
cost since its more than made up for by the greater custom because of it.
Perhaps something the cabbies should bear in mind.

--
Spud

Taxi drivers protest outside TfL
 

In message , at 14:01:25 on Tue, 18 Oct
2016, tim... remarked:

Endangering Taxi drivers with irresponsible rear mounted card readers.

Huh? Wtf is dangerous about a card reader?

Perhaps it puts the driver into contact with the passenger - not
always a good idea.

so how does the driver avoid "contact with the passenger" when accept a
cash payment now?

The passenger slips it through a letter-box sized aperture.
--
Roland Perry

Taxi drivers protest outside TfL
 

In message , at 14:02:33 on Tue, 18 Oct
2016, tim... remarked:
I'm not sure if it has happened already or not but TfL want the fare
paid to be the same regardless of cash or card with no surcharge.
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/pr...e-accepted-by-
london-taxis

That's not unreasonable, but CC charges are not 5%

so what's the beef here?

"To ensure customers and cabbies don't pay over the odds, TfL has
negotiated with the credit card industry to bring down the cost for
drivers of accepting card payments. This will reduce transaction fees
paid by cabbies from up to 10% to three per cent or less of the
transaction."

I don't know who cabbies are paying 10% to, but 3% would be typical for
a small self-employed business. Plus you having to spend a few hundred
on the terminal.
--
Roland Perry

Taxi drivers protest outside TfL
 

On 2016-10-18 13:02:33 +0000, tim... said:

so what's the beef here?

Some taxi and minicab drivers like to fail to declare their whole
income for tax purposes.

That's why taxi drivers (and minicab drivers) don't like card payments.
And why I do - it's a highly dodgy industry which is receiving some
welcome regulation from a passenger's point of view. I'm more than
happy to pay, by card from my pre-configured account, a fare that has
been determined by a non-tamperable smartphone app - that's how Uber
works. That way, drivers willing to fiddle things gain no advantage.
Take it one further and price zonally, and the incentive to cheat by
taking an unnecessarily long route goes, too. As does arguing about
tips.

Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the @ to reply.

Taxi drivers protest outside TfL
 

On 2016-10-18 13:37:39 +0000, Roland Perry said:

I don't know who cabbies are paying 10% to, but 3% would be typical for
a small self-employed business. Plus you having to spend a few hundred
on the terminal.

Pennies compared with the cost of the taxi.

Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the @ to reply.

Taxi drivers protest outside TfL
 

On Tue, 18 Oct 2016 14:58:07 +0100
Neil Williams wrote:
That's why taxi drivers (and minicab drivers) don't like card payments.
And why I do - it's a highly dodgy industry which is receiving some
welcome regulation from a passenger's point of view. I'm more than
happy to pay, by card from my pre-configured account, a fare that has
been determined by a non-tamperable smartphone app - that's how Uber
works. That way, drivers willing to fiddle things gain no advantage.

A program is only non tamperable until someone finds a way to tamper with it.
And of course you have to be happy for a company like Uber to have all your
details. Personally I'd rather not give mine to such a slimey operator.

--
Spud

Taxi drivers protest outside TfL
 

In article ,
(Neil Williams) wrote:

On 2016-10-18 13:02:33 +0000, tim... said:

so what's the beef here?

Some taxi and minicab drivers like to fail to declare their whole
income for tax purposes.

That's why taxi drivers (and minicab drivers) don't like card
payments. And why I do - it's a highly dodgy industry which is
receiving some welcome regulation from a passenger's point of view.
I'm more than happy to pay, by card from my pre-configured account, a
fare that has been determined by a non-tamperable smartphone app -
that's how Uber works. That way, drivers willing to fiddle things
gain no advantage. Take it one further and price zonally, and the
incentive to cheat by taking an unnecessarily long route goes, too.
As does arguing about tips.

Hackney carriage drivers have meters to keep them honest of course. One
reason why licensed hire cars in Cambridge have meters.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Taxi drivers protest outside TfL
 

wrote:

On Tue, 18 Oct 2016 14:02:33 +0100
"tim..." wrote:
"David Walters" wrote in message
I'm not sure if it has happened already or not but TfL want the fare
paid to be the same regardless of cash or card with no surcharge.

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/pr...ber/mayor-and-
tfl-co
firm-card-and-contactless-payments-will-be-accepted-by-london-taxis

That's not unreasonable, but CC charges are not 5%

They're 0% in most shops. You don't expect to pay more for your shopping
at Tesco if you use a CC rather than debit or cash. The supermarket
swallows the cost since its more than made up for by the greater custom
because of it. Perhaps something the cabbies should bear in mind.

Ansd as amore direct comparison Trains charge the same for cash and
credit cards


--
Mark

Taxi drivers protest outside TfL
 

On 2016-10-18 14:30:43 +0000, d said:

A program is only non tamperable until someone finds a way to tamper with it.
And of course you have to be happy for a company like Uber to have all your
details. Personally I'd rather not give mine to such a slimey operator.

My experience is that Uber is orders of magnitude less "slimey" than a
great many taxi drivers, both of private hire and of Hackney carriages
outside London.

The Hackney carriage drivers in Milton Keynes are particularly
disreputable. Anyone with any sense ignores them and uses one of the
private hire operators who behave much better.

Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the @ to reply.