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Comment by vjvj | Hacker News Reader

I'm surprised a lot of the posts here are missing the key point.

The main argument black cab (taxi) drivers are making is that Transport for London (the regulatory body) forces them to go through a bunch of extra steps before they can work (1) whereas minicabs (e.g. Ubers) are free from this.

That said, it's definitely a good thing these measures did not pass because they simply made minicabs worse rather than trying to improve the situation for taxi drivers whose "it's unfair" argument is a valid one.

Even as someone who is open to new tech, there are nuanced arguments on both sides which are often overlooked.

(1) For example, taxi drivers must do a navigation test learning the vast majority of roads in London ("The Knowledge"); be CRB checked where minicab drivers do not.

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You make a good point. I think some of those checks - the CRB for instance, are undoubtedly good things. I wish that the black cabs would move on and require operators to have GPS devices and not rely on "The Knowledge". Impressive as it is, in my experience it results in longer routes and often relies on the passenger knowing where they are going.

The main sticking point though must be the fares though - black cabs are significantly more expensive than Uber, and this is the main reason they are losing business IMO. I would be interested to see a breakdown of why the fares are more. Is it simply more money in the pockets of the drivers? Or does the extra money pay for better vehicles, insurance, training, taxes etc?

I don't know why they cost what they do, but black cab taxi fares are set by TfL and they can't charge any more or less. Here is the breakdown https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/taxis-and-minicabs/taxi-fares/tarif...

I'd reason that legacy costs would be an issue for black taxi drivers even if they could set their own fares:

All registered taxi drivers have already spent £££ getting "qualified" to be a taxi driver. If they suddenly have the ability to set lower fares to compete with minicabs, they wouldn't be happy to do so given they have already incurred the costs (albeit sunk) of being able to do what they do.

If I were to start planning a solution, I would look at other ways taxi drivers can be given value-adding advantages without harming minicabs or worsening current levels of service for consumers. e.g. Only black taxis (not minicabs) can use bus lanes so anyone wanting a faster journey would be happy to pay a premium for black taxis.

However, I fear this has become too politicised for intelligent consideration of the issues at hand.

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