Woking to Heathrow
 

On 06/03/2018 09:32, tim wrote:


"John Williamson" wrote in message
...
On 06/03/2018 05:14, John Levine wrote:
In article ,
John Williamson* wrote:
I know one person "up North" who paid an Uber driver under a fiver to
get to the supermarket, but the trip back with a different* driver cost
over £20 because the driver got lost.

I am not a big fan of Uber but that seems rather apochyphal because
the Uber app quotes you the price before you get in the car.

I have no reason to doubt the truth of the report.

except that it's fundamentally flawed

Do you work for Uber, then? Otherwise, why are you calling the person a
liar?


--
Tciao for Now!

John.

Woking to Heathrow
 

In message
-sept
ember.org, at 09:40:33 on Tue, 6 Mar 2018, Recliner
remarked:

I know one person "up North" who paid an Uber driver under a fiver to
get to the supermarket, but the trip back with a different driver cost
over £20 because the driver got lost.

I am not a big fan of Uber but that seems rather apochyphal because
the Uber app quotes you the price before you get in the car.

I have no reason to doubt the truth of the report.

except that it's fundamentally flawed

I wonder if surge pricing could have been the reason?

It's a bit of a big "surge", but that can indeed account for different
prices for out and back legs.

However, the two things wrong are that the Uber price is quoted (and
fixed) in advance, and all the cars have satnavs so what's this "getting
lost" all about?
--
Roland Perry

Woking to Heathrow
 

"John Williamson" wrote in message
...
On 06/03/2018 09:32, tim wrote:


"John Williamson" wrote in message
...
On 06/03/2018 05:14, John Levine wrote:
In article ,
John Williamson wrote:
I know one person "up North" who paid an Uber driver under a fiver to
get to the supermarket, but the trip back with a different driver
cost
over £20 because the driver got lost.

I am not a big fan of Uber but that seems rather apochyphal because
the Uber app quotes you the price before you get in the car.

I have no reason to doubt the truth of the report.

except that it's fundamentally flawed

Do you work for Uber, then? Otherwise, why are you calling the person a
liar?

mis-remembering, mis-reporting

tim

Woking to Heathrow
 

On Mon, Mar 05, 2018 at 09:27:31PM +0000, John Williamson wrote:
On 05/03/2018 21:03, Offramp wrote:
On Saturday, 1 April 2017 09:47:13 UTC+1, e27002 wrote:
Has anyone used Uber? How does it work? What is the service like?
I still have not used Uber and I am not sure how it works.

You install the app on your phone. You create an account, hand over your
credit card details. Then when you need a taxi you tell the app where
you want to go, confirm that you are where the app thinks you are, pick
the type of service you want, and wait for your driver to show up. The
app will tell you the driver's name and his number plate so you can make
sure you get in the right car.

When you have arrived at your destination you don't have to do anything
to pay, it's all handled by Magic Elves.

In the unlikely event that something goes wrong you can use Uber's
website or the app to ask for a refund.

I know one person "up North" who paid an Uber driver under a fiver to
get to the supermarket, but the trip back with a different driver cost
over ??20 because the driver got lost.

I trust that your friend did the refund dance.

--
David Cantrell | Reality Engineer, Ministry of Information

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.

Woking to Heathrow
 

On Mon, Mar 05, 2018 at 09:55:10PM +0000, John Williamson wrote:
On 05/03/2018 21:38, Recliner wrote:
Uber is still operating in London while the appeals process grinds along.
It seems to have a lot of very happy customers, and is being cited as a
reason wny TfL's tube and bus growth has stalled.
Which is odd, because their normal clients should be taxi and private
hire car users.

By making taxis much more convenient they have dramatically increased
the size of the market.

--
David Cantrell | Official London Perl Mongers Bad Influence

Your call is important to me. To see if it's important to
you I'm going to make you wait on hold for five minutes.
All calls are recorded for blackmail and amusement purposes.

Woking to Heathrow
 

On Tue, Mar 06, 2018 at 05:14:20AM -0000, John Levine wrote:
In article ,
John Williamson wrote:
I know one person "up North" who paid an Uber driver under a fiver to
get to the supermarket, but the trip back with a different driver cost
over ??20 because the driver got lost.
I am not a big fan of Uber but that seems rather apochyphal because
the Uber app quotes you the price before you get in the car.

It gives you an estimate, not a quote.

--
David Cantrell | Pope | First Church of the Symmetrical Internet

If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you're reading it in English, thank Chaucer.

Woking to Heathrow
 

In message , at 12:57:57
on Tue, 6 Mar 2018, David Cantrell remarked:

I know one person "up North" who paid an Uber driver under a fiver to
get to the supermarket, but the trip back with a different driver cost
over ??20 because the driver got lost.

I am not a big fan of Uber but that seems rather apochyphal because
the Uber app quotes you the price before you get in the car.

It gives you an estimate, not a quote.

https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/23/...cing-replaces-
estimates-with-guarantees/
--
Roland Perry

Woking to Heathrow
 

On 06/03/2018 14:36, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:57:57
on Tue, 6 Mar 2018, David Cantrell remarked:

I know one person "up North" who paid an Uber driver under a fiver to
get to the supermarket, but the trip back with a different driver cost
over ??20 because the driver got lost.

I am not a big fan of Uber but that seems rather apochyphal because
the Uber app quotes you the price before you get in the car.

It gives you an estimate, not a quote.

https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/23/...cing-replaces-
estimates-with-guarantees/

If you read down to the bottom of this page, it seems this only applies
in the USA and parts of India at the moment. There is no mention of it
being applied yet in the UK.

https://www.uber.com/newsroom/upfron...-no-surprises/

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

Woking to Heathrow
 

"David Cantrell" wrote in message
k...
On Mon, Mar 05, 2018 at 09:55:10PM +0000, John Williamson wrote:
On 05/03/2018 21:38, Recliner wrote:
Uber is still operating in London while the appeals process grinds
along.
It seems to have a lot of very happy customers, and is being cited as a
reason wny TfL's tube and bus growth has stalled.
Which is odd, because their normal clients should be taxi and private
hire car users.

By making taxis much more convenient they have dramatically increased
the size of the market.


Actually, by "employing" people on less than NWM in order to make the fares
significantly cheaper they have expanded the market

It remains to be seen whether that expansion will remain when TPTB
eventually put in rule that makes Uber pay their drivers NMW (which they are
minded to do when they can work out how)

tim

Woking to Heathrow
 

In message , at 15:44:42 on Tue, 6 Mar
2018, John Williamson remarked:
On 06/03/2018 14:36, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:57:57
on Tue, 6 Mar 2018, David Cantrell remarked:

I know one person "up North" who paid an Uber driver under a fiver
to
get to the supermarket, but the trip back with a different driver cost
over ??20 because the driver got lost.

I am not a big fan of Uber but that seems rather apochyphal because
the Uber app quotes you the price before you get in the car.

It gives you an estimate, not a quote.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/23/...cing-replaces-
estimates-with-guarantees/

If you read down to the bottom of this page, it seems this only applies
in the USA and parts of India at the moment. There is no mention of it
being applied yet in the UK.

https://www.uber.com/newsroom/upfron...-no-surprises/

Rules of thumb are indeed hard to find (our bad for assuming Uber has a
consistent product!) This page requires you to pick a city:

https://help.uber.com/h/d2d43bbc-f4b...b-4bd8acf03a9d

London fares (three-component like hackneys)

Base Fare £2.50
+Per Minute £0.15
+Per Mile £1.25

Here's Newcastle ("up north" straw poll):

Base Fare £0.60
+Per Minute £0.10
+Per Mile £1.40 -interesting this is higher

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"

--
Roland Perry

Woking to Heathrow
 

Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 15:44:42 on Tue, 6 Mar
2018, John Williamson remarked:
On 06/03/2018 14:36, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:57:57
on Tue, 6 Mar 2018, David Cantrell remarked:

I know one person "up North" who paid an Uber driver under a fiver
to
get to the supermarket, but the trip back with a different driver cost
over ??20 because the driver got lost.

I am not a big fan of Uber but that seems rather apochyphal because
the Uber app quotes you the price before you get in the car.

It gives you an estimate, not a quote.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/23/...cing-replaces-
estimates-with-guarantees/

If you read down to the bottom of this page, it seems this only applies
in the USA and parts of India at the moment. There is no mention of it
being applied yet in the UK.

https://www.uber.com/newsroom/upfron...-no-surprises/

Rules of thumb are indeed hard to find (our bad for assuming Uber has a
consistent product!) This page requires you to pick a city:

https://help.uber.com/h/d2d43bbc-f4b...b-4bd8acf03a9d

London fares (three-component like hackneys)

Base Fare £2.50
+Per Minute £0.15
+Per Mile £1.25

Here's Newcastle ("up north" straw poll):

Base Fare £0.60
+Per Minute £0.10
+Per Mile £1.40 -interesting this is higher

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"


Yes, the claimed £5/£20 numbers don't really make sense, do they? And
surely most passengers would spot if a mini cab was so far off route?

Woking to Heathrow
 

"Recliner" wrote in message
...
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 15:44:42 on Tue, 6 Mar
2018, John Williamson remarked:
On 06/03/2018 14:36, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at
12:57:57
on Tue, 6 Mar 2018, David Cantrell remarked:

I know one person "up North" who paid an Uber driver under a fiver
to
get to the supermarket, but the trip back with a different driver
cost
over ??20 because the driver got lost.

I am not a big fan of Uber but that seems rather apochyphal because
the Uber app quotes you the price before you get in the car.

It gives you an estimate, not a quote.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/23/...cing-replaces-
estimates-with-guarantees/

If you read down to the bottom of this page, it seems this only applies
in the USA and parts of India at the moment. There is no mention of it
being applied yet in the UK.

https://www.uber.com/newsroom/upfron...-no-surprises/

Rules of thumb are indeed hard to find (our bad for assuming Uber has a
consistent product!) This page requires you to pick a city:

https://help.uber.com/h/d2d43bbc-f4b...b-4bd8acf03a9d

London fares (three-component like hackneys)

Base Fare £2.50
+Per Minute £0.15
+Per Mile £1.25

Here's Newcastle ("up north" straw poll):

Base Fare £0.60
+Per Minute £0.10
+Per Mile £1.40 -interesting this is higher

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"


Yes, the claimed £5/£20 numbers don't really make sense, do they? And
surely most passengers would spot if a mini cab was so far off route?


It's a while since I used Uber but from what I recall the email receipt
includes a map with the route that was charged. AIUI the the driver is
expected to follow the route that was the basis of the quote, unless there
was a good reason for doing otherwise.

--
DAS

Woking to Heathrow
 

On Tuesday, 6 March 2018 21:55:35 UTC, Recliner wrote:

Here's Newcastle ("up north" straw poll):

Base Fare £0.60
+Per Minute £0.10
+Per Mile £1.40 -interesting this is higher

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"

Yes, the claimed £5/£20 numbers don't really make sense, do they?

I thought it must have been "stuck in traffic" time - but at 10p a minute that would be a big, long traffic jam. It must be a combination.

Let's say the cab was stuck in traffic for 3 hours, and the punter asked the driver to take an alternative route which was an extra mile:
60p + £1.40 + £18 = £20.
That's a bit unlikely, but a bit of tweaking might produce something more realistic.

Woking to Heathrow
 

On 06/03/2018 20:06, Roland Perry wrote:
A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a stupendous amount of "getting lost"

Is Uber any good?

I've not been encouraged by their website. For a journey that we do occasionally by taxi from our local station to home, it shows a range of fares from £4 to £16 (a black cab typically costs £5.50). But the route shown on the web-site's map is neither the shortest nor the fastest, and indeed would involve getting lost, as it goes through two roads that actually do not connect (there is a mistake on Open Street Map that I've tried to correct but after several years it's still there). If that's what they use for navigation then I'm not impressed at all. It shows the same impossible route for some other journeys in the area.

--
Clive Page

Woking to Heathrow
 

In message , at 10:36:14 on Wed, 7 Mar
2018, Clive Page remarked:

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"

Is Uber any good?

I've not been encouraged by their website. For a journey that we do
occasionally by taxi from our local station to home, it shows a range
of fares from £4 to £16 (a black cab typically costs £5.50).

Once you get outside metropolitan areas the cost per mile is a killer.
Even a short-ish trip to an airport (let's say 50 miles) is grossly
uncompetitive with local minicabs.
--
Roland Perry

Woking to Heathrow
 

On 2018\03\06 20:06, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 15:44:42 on Tue, 6 Mar
2018, John Williamson remarked:
On 06/03/2018 14:36, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:57:57
on Tue, 6 Mar 2018, David Cantrell remarked:

I know one person "up North" who paid an Uber driver under a fiver to
get to the supermarket, but the trip back with a differentÂ* driver
cost
over ??20 because the driver got lost.

I am not a big fan of Uber but that seems rather apochyphal because
the Uber app quotes you the price before you get in the car.

It gives you an estimate, not a quote.
Â*https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/23/...cing-replaces-
estimates-with-guarantees/

If you read down to the bottom of this page, it seems this only
applies in the USA and parts of India at the moment. There is no
mention of it being applied yet in the UK.

https://www.uber.com/newsroom/upfron...-no-surprises/

Rules of thumb are indeed hard to find (our bad for assuming Uber has a
consistent product!) This page requires you to pick a city:

https://help.uber.com/h/d2d43bbc-f4b...b-4bd8acf03a9d

London fares (three-component like hackneys)

Base FareÂ*Â* £2.50
+Per Minute £0.15
+Per MileÂ*Â* £1.25

Here's Newcastle ("up north" straw poll):

Base FareÂ*Â* £0.60
+Per Minute £0.10
+Per MileÂ*Â* £1.40Â*Â* -interesting this is higher

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"

No, it isn't. There are countless places where one wrong turn can put
you on a motorway and add 10 or 20 miles to a journey.

Woking to Heathrow
 

On 07/03/2018 12:28, Basil Jet wrote:
snip

No, it isn't. There are countless places where one wrong turn can put
you on a motorway and add 10 or 20 miles to a journey.

Do Uber's terms and conditions leave the customer liable for the costs
of such a mistake (assuming the customer did not give the driver
instructions directions which caused it)? I'd have expected it to be
negligence by the driver - on the basis that any reasonably competent
driver of a PHV would either know a reasonable route or take steps
(SatNav, map, phone a friend, or whatever) to find one.
--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid

Woking to Heathrow
 

On 07/03/2018 12:46, Robin wrote:
On 07/03/2018 12:28, Basil Jet wrote:
snip

No, it isn't. There are countless places where one wrong turn can put
you on a motorway and add 10 or 20 miles to a journey.

Do Uber's terms and conditions leave the customer liable for the costs
of such a mistake (assuming the customer did not give the driver
instructions directions which caused it)?Â* I'd have expected it to be
negligence by the driver - on the basis that any reasonably competent
driver of a PHV would either know a reasonable route or take steps
(SatNav, map, phone a friend, or whatever) to find one.

In my experience, youu pay the fare, complain to Uber, get a message
back within half an hour apologising and re-crediting you a chunk of the
fare.

Woking to Heathrow
 

"Robin" wrote in message
...
On 07/03/2018 12:28, Basil Jet wrote:
snip

No, it isn't. There are countless places where one wrong turn can put you
on a motorway and add 10 or 20 miles to a journey.

Do Uber's terms and conditions leave the customer liable for the costs of
such a mistake (assuming the customer did not give the driver instructions
directions which caused it)? I'd have expected it to be negligence by the
driver - on the basis that any reasonably competent driver of a PHV would
either know a reasonable route or take steps (SatNav, map, phone a friend,
or whatever) to find one.

The trip is charged automatically and it's possible that even the driver may
not be able to make an adjustment. So the customer can give the driver a bad
rating or ...

https://help.uber.com/h/0487f360-dc5...9-9d3f04810fa9
"My driver took a poor route

If you have concerns about the route your driver took, let us know here.
We'll be happy to review.

Trip fares are calculated including both distance and time, as well as other
applicable charges.

Please keep in mind that if events outside your driver's control (such as
traffic or road construction) impact your route and travel time, we may not
be able to provide a fare adjustment."
.... which would be more productive than moaning about it on a newsgroup.

--
DAS

Woking to Heathrow
 

On Tue, Mar 06, 2018 at 02:36:19PM +0000, Roland Perry wrote:
on Tue, 6 Mar 2018, David Cantrell remarked:
It gives you an estimate, not a quote.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/23/...cing-replaces-
estimates-with-guarantees/

The Uber app on my phone, that I am looking at right now, and says that
it will cost GBP 21 - 28 to get me home, disagrees.

Gosh, I wonder which source I should trust.

--
David Cantrell | Bourgeois reactionary pig

Languages for which ISO-Latin-$n is not necessary, #1 in a series:

Latin

Woking to Heathrow
 

On 07/03/2018 14:04, D A Stocks wrote:
"Robin" wrote in message
...
On 07/03/2018 12:28, Basil Jet wrote:
snip

No, it isn't. There are countless places where one wrong turn can put
you on a motorway and add 10 or 20 miles to a journey.

Do Uber's terms and conditions leave the customer liable for the costs
of such a mistake (assuming the customer did not give the driver
instructions directions which caused it)?* I'd have expected it to be
negligence by the driver - on the basis that any reasonably competent
driver of a PHV would either know a reasonable route or take steps
(SatNav, map, phone a friend, or whatever) to find one.

The trip is charged automatically and it's possible that even the driver
may not be able to make an adjustment. So the customer can give the
driver a bad rating or ...

https://help.uber.com/h/0487f360-dc5...9-9d3f04810fa9
"My driver took a poor route

If you have concerns about the route your driver took, let us know here.
We'll be happy to review.

Trip fares are calculated including both distance and time, as well as
other applicable charges.

Please keep in mind that if events outside your driver's control (such
as traffic or road construction) impact your route and travel time, we
may not be able to provide a fare adjustment."
.... which would be more productive than moaning about it on a newsgroup.


Thanks for that. But it patently leaves it all to Uber's discretion.
What I tried but failed to find were the actual T&Cs - in the sense of
the contract between customer and driver. (There must be one given Uber
insist they are not providing transport services.) And as I am not a
user of Uber I don't have any practical experience.

I do know that TfL require all PHVs to "give you an accurate fare
estimate before your journey starts (unless you've pre-agreed a fixed
fare)". But I've no idea if that's:

a. "accurate - subject to delays, enforced diversions and other events
outside the driver's control" or

b. "accurate assuming the driver is competent - but you just have to
lump it if not".

--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid

Woking to Heathrow
 

In message , at 14:14:26
on Wed, 7 Mar 2018, David Cantrell remarked:
On Tue, Mar 06, 2018 at 02:36:19PM +0000, Roland Perry wrote:
on Tue, 6 Mar 2018, David Cantrell remarked:
It gives you an estimate, not a quote.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/23/...cing-replaces-
estimates-with-guarantees/

The Uber app on my phone, that I am looking at right now, and says that
it will cost GBP 21 - 28 to get me home, disagrees.

Gosh, I wonder which source I should trust.

You are about a day late to the "we've now agreed Uber has confusion
pricing (let alone disastrously vague press reporting of their product),
so avoid them like the plague" party.
--
Roland Perry

Woking to Heathrow
 

"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 10:36:14 on Wed, 7 Mar
2018, Clive Page remarked:

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"

Is Uber any good?

I've not been encouraged by their website. For a journey that we do
occasionally by taxi from our local station to home, it shows a range
of fares from £4 to £16 (a black cab typically costs £5.50).

Once you get outside metropolitan areas the cost per mile is a killer.
Even a short-ish trip to an airport (let's say 50 miles) is grossly
uncompetitive with local minicabs.

I've just got a quote for central Brighton to Gatwick Airport (around 30
miles) that compares reasonably well with a turn up and go fare in a
minicab. Wise travellers to an airport use a pre-booked specialist airport
car service, but I once had to grab a cab off the rank at Brighton station
when I arrived to find the rail service to be in tits up mode.

--
DAS

Woking to Heathrow
 

In article , (D A Stocks)
wrote:

"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 10:36:14 on Wed,
7 Mar 2018, Clive Page remarked:

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"

Is Uber any good?

I've not been encouraged by their website. For a journey that we do
occasionally by taxi from our local station to home, it shows a range
of fares from £4 to £16 (a black cab typically costs £5.50).

Once you get outside metropolitan areas the cost per mile is a
killer. Even a short-ish trip to an airport (let's say 50 miles) is
grossly uncompetitive with local minicabs.

I've just got a quote for central Brighton to Gatwick Airport (around
30 miles) that compares reasonably well with a turn up and go fare in
a minicab. Wise travellers to an airport use a pre-booked specialist
airport car service, but I once had to grab a cab off the rank at
Brighton station when I arrived to find the rail service to be in
tits up mode.

You could of course just get a direct train from Brighton to Gatwick Airport!

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Woking to Heathrow
 

wrote in message
...
In article , (D A
Stocks)
wrote:

"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 10:36:14 on Wed,
7 Mar 2018, Clive Page remarked:

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"

Is Uber any good?

I've not been encouraged by their website. For a journey that we do
occasionally by taxi from our local station to home, it shows a range
of fares from £4 to £16 (a black cab typically costs £5.50).

Once you get outside metropolitan areas the cost per mile is a
killer. Even a short-ish trip to an airport (let's say 50 miles) is
grossly uncompetitive with local minicabs.

I've just got a quote for central Brighton to Gatwick Airport (around
30 miles) that compares reasonably well with a turn up and go fare in
a minicab. Wise travellers to an airport use a pre-booked specialist
airport car service, but I once had to grab a cab off the rank at
Brighton station when I arrived to find the rail service to be in
tits up mode.

You could of course just get a direct train from Brighton to Gatwick
Airport!

Only if such a train is available.

--
DAS

Woking to Heathrow
 

In article , (D A Stocks)
wrote:

wrote in message
...
In article , (D A
Stocks) wrote:

"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 10:36:14 on Wed,
7 Mar 2018, Clive Page remarked:

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"

Is Uber any good?

I've not been encouraged by their website. For a journey that we do
occasionally by taxi from our local station to home, it shows a range
of fares from £4 to £16 (a black cab typically costs £5.50).

Once you get outside metropolitan areas the cost per mile is a
killer. Even a short-ish trip to an airport (let's say 50 miles) is
grossly uncompetitive with local minicabs.

I've just got a quote for central Brighton to Gatwick Airport (around
30 miles) that compares reasonably well with a turn up and go fare in
a minicab. Wise travellers to an airport use a pre-booked specialist
airport car service, but I once had to grab a cab off the rank at
Brighton station when I arrived to find the rail service to be in
tits up mode.

You could of course just get a direct train from Brighton to
Gatwick Airport!

Only if such a train is available.

If you're travelling at times when there are no trains (0010 to 0510) taxi
fares tend to attract premium rates.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Woking to Heathrow
 

On 07/03/2018 14:21, Robin wrote:
On 07/03/2018 14:04, D A Stocks wrote:
"Robin" wrote in message
...
On 07/03/2018 12:28, Basil Jet wrote:
snip

No, it isn't. There are countless places where one wrong turn can
put you on a motorway and add 10 or 20 miles to a journey.

Do Uber's terms and conditions leave the customer liable for the
costs of such a mistake (assuming the customer did not give the
driver instructions directions which caused it)?* I'd have expected
it to be negligence by the driver - on the basis that any reasonably
competent driver of a PHV would either know a reasonable route or
take steps (SatNav, map, phone a friend, or whatever) to find one.

The trip is charged automatically and it's possible that even the
driver may not be able to make an adjustment. So the customer can give
the driver a bad rating or ...

https://help.uber.com/h/0487f360-dc5...9-9d3f04810fa9
"My driver took a poor route

If you have concerns about the route your driver took, let us know
here. We'll be happy to review.

Trip fares are calculated including both distance and time, as well as
other applicable charges.

Please keep in mind that if events outside your driver's control (such
as traffic or road construction) impact your route and travel time, we
may not be able to provide a fare adjustment."
.... which would be more productive than moaning about it on a newsgroup.


Thanks for that.* But it patently leaves it all to Uber's discretion.

The "fare" is not to their discretion, but any adjustment is - it's a
matter of fact how long a journey took and how many yards were covered.
It can be a matter of opinion whether the route taken was the most
appropriate as traffic conditions can vary by the minute.

When I have had issues, Uber have always been very good about sorting
them out.

How they treat their driver coworkers (or whatever they call them) is a
different discussion.

Woking to Heathrow
 

On 07/03/2018 23:47, wrote:
In article , (D A Stocks)
wrote:

wrote in message

You could of course just get a direct train from Brighton to
Gatwick Airport!

Only if such a train is available.

If you're travelling at times when there are no trains (0010 to 0510) taxi
fares tend to attract premium rates.

Those aren't the only times there were no traiins - large chunks of 2017
had a similar problem...

Woking to Heathrow
 

In message , at 17:16:08 on Wed, 7 Mar
2018, D A Stocks remarked:

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"

Is Uber any good?

I've not been encouraged by their website. For a journey that we do
occasionally by taxi from our local station to home, it shows a range
of fares from £4 to £16 (a black cab typically costs £5.50).

Once you get outside metropolitan areas the cost per mile is a
killer. Even a short-ish trip to an airport (let's say 50 miles) is
grossly uncompetitive with local minicabs.

I've just got a quote for central Brighton to Gatwick Airport (around
30 miles) that compares reasonably well with a turn up and go fare in a
minicab.

It's not as different as I expected for a trip to Stansted (~1hr on the
road) where I've got an estimate of £75 from Uber, and a fixed fare of
£55 from a local minicab firm.

That exercise has also reminded me of what my apparent confusion was
regarding Uber fares being fixed or variable. I took their site to mean
that "we estimate your fixed fare, should you wish to book at the
moment, will be £75".

On a different day, different time, I'd have expected a different such
estimate[1], but I (naively it seems) expected the fare quoted when I
booked to be honoured (like it is for minicab firms who are off their
Local-Authority meter).

[1] Or, as every time I've actually tried taking my mystery shopping to
the next stage, a "no bid".
--
Roland Perry

Woking to Heathrow
 

"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 17:16:08 on Wed, 7 Mar
2018, D A Stocks remarked:

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"

Is Uber any good?

I've not been encouraged by their website. For a journey that we do
occasionally by taxi from our local station to home, it shows a range
of fares from £4 to £16 (a black cab typically costs £5.50).

Once you get outside metropolitan areas the cost per mile is a killer.
Even a short-ish trip to an airport (let's say 50 miles) is grossly
uncompetitive with local minicabs.

I've just got a quote for central Brighton to Gatwick Airport (around 30
miles) that compares reasonably well with a turn up and go fare in a
minicab.

It's not as different as I expected for a trip to Stansted (~1hr on the
road) where I've got an estimate of £75 from Uber, and a fixed fare of £55
from a local minicab firm.

Is the minicab firm a pre-booked fare? Generally these are cheaper - I
assume this is because the firm has a better chance of finding a customer to
pay for the return trip.

I would expect Uber prices to be more comparable with taking a metered taxi
off a rank.

--
DAS

Woking to Heathrow
 

In message , at 13:05:13 on Thu, 8 Mar
2018, D A Stocks remarked:
"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 17:16:08 on Wed, 7
Mar 2018, D A Stocks remarked:

A £5 fare would be (at 20mph) 2.6 miles, £20 11.5 miles. That's a
stupendous amount of "getting lost"

Is Uber any good?

I've not been encouraged by their website. For a journey that we do
occasionally by taxi from our local station to home, it shows a range
of fares from £4 to £16 (a black cab typically costs £5.50).

Once you get outside metropolitan areas the cost per mile is a
killer. Even a short-ish trip to an airport (let's say 50 miles) is
grossly uncompetitive with local minicabs.

I've just got a quote for central Brighton to Gatwick Airport (around
30 miles) that compares reasonably well with a turn up and go fare in
a minicab.

It's not as different as I expected for a trip to Stansted (~1hr on
the road) where I've got an estimate of £75 from Uber, and a fixed
fare of £55 from a local minicab firm.

Is the minicab firm a pre-booked fare? Generally these are cheaper - I
assume this is because the firm has a better chance of finding a
customer to pay for the return trip.

Such fares are generally pre-booked with the minicab firm, but only
offered to drivers at the last minute (the minicab firm is betting that
there will be at least one affiliated driver in their pool willing to
accept the fare when broadcast). So really it's not so much booking a
cab in advance, as booking the cab firm's solicitation broadcast to the
fleet in advance.

Most of the time the individual drivers will be fighting to get those
kinds of fares, because it's much easier and more lucrative work than
ferrying a succession of drunks a couple of miles home at night.

I would expect Uber prices to be more comparable with taking a metered
taxi off a rank.

oh dear oh dear, you'll have the utl thought-police to answer to, if I
start describing how even minicabs in my area are metered (if they don't
negotiate a fixed fee in advance).
--
Roland Perry

Woking to Heathrow
 

On Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 9:47:13 AM UTC+1, e27002 wrote:
OK, so I have had it with the Woking RailAir coach link. I need an
alternative means of reaching the airport. Train from the South Coast
to Woking is fine. But what are the alternatives for reaching the
airport?

Has anyone used Uber? How does it work? What is the service like?

Basil Jet, The Weybridge to Feltham trains are only every half hour.

Much quicker to go to Clapham Junction from Portsmouth then fast or semi fast train to Feltham. Plenty of 285 buses from Feltham to Heathrow Central or 490 bus if you want T4 or T5.

South Western trains have plans to end the Feltham-Weybridge service next year and send the Hounslow loop trains to Windsor instead.