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Black cab v Uber

We debate many things on The Rust but so far this is the first time we have considered the above transportation issue. When it comes to travel I am bit of a Luddite. My concerns with travel in the digital age are that my mobile might run out of juice, there is no back up phone number, and the security aspects of anyone having my credit card details.

Uber has been the subject of unattractive publicity.

Against that Hackney carriage companies have been slow to react to the digital age. Uber is cheaper and avoids that dreaded occurrence being stuck in a traffic jam when all that moves is the taxi meter.

The other day I was having lunch with a pal in Fulham, a man of definitive tastes whose world is black and white.

He swears by Uber for its better value and speedy pick ups. I already had the app and car was swiftly ordered and arrived. The driver was Albanian. I found him too familiar e.g. “Do you have children?”. Otherwise I found no fault until he took a right hand turn from a main road too sharply, blocking a driver. This led to an exchange with much effing and blinding. You look for greater driving professionalism and in the survey I only scored 4/5, mentioning the driving.

My friend also commented that Uber drivers rely on satnav and he sits in the front seat to give advice. On my next Uber journey the driver took the Marylebone Road in the rush hour which resulted in an uncomfortable trip in severe heat. Later in the night I hailed a black tab. He bobbed and weaved around the traffic. The fare was greater than Uber.

So my conclusion is that if time is not an issue I would probably go for Uber but if I was pressed I would hail a black cab in the Street.

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About Gerald Ingolby

Formerly a consumer journalist on radio and television, in 2002 Gerald published a thriller novel featuring a campaigning editor who was wrongly accused and jailed for fraud. He now runs a website devoted to consumer news. More Posts