in the US far too much occupational regulation/licensing only serves now to protect current providers effectively locking out or deterring competition.
However, The EFTA surveillance authority is looking into if Norway is in breach of EU rules by restricting taxi licenses, so it could be opened up. We are governed by the same laws as the EU
Uber should comply with rules, but we really need Uber and similar services
I was in Paris and Barcelona last week: In Paris I could easily take an Uber and everything was a breeze In Barcelona I had to take taxis. I paid with credit card, and the drivers charged me in NOK without asking, against MasterCard rules. I even said I wanted to pay in EUR at one occasion
To submit a complaint I had to fill in a paper form, and post it by mail with the original receipts. The receipts from the credit card terminal don't even have the taxi information as in Norway, so not sure they can do anything either.
It's frankly ridiculous
Taxi drivers in Barcelona was even on strike to protest against Cabify and Uber that want to compete on equal terms, while they are protected through draconian systems that have no accountability if you have a problem
What is NOK?
Some it's relatively easy [edit: to operate as a "taxi" in a general sense, rather than the legal term], such as in the UK (pass a prolonged driving test, have commercial insurance, review of any criminal record as to whether they pose a threat to the public, though there's some variety between councils who are the licensing body especially when it comes to vehicles and equipment), others it's as bad (and expensive) as I understand many US cities to be like.
Another difference taxis tend to have specific whitelisted vehicles (hence the iconic image of a black hackney cab), whereas private hires generally just need to meet some list of requirements (typically something along the lines of having at least four doors, seating at least four, etc.).
1. Car-With-Driver-For-Hire. This is what uber falls into. You need a drivers license that allows you to transport people, and insurance for the car that covers your commercial driving.
2. Taxi. This is what traditional taxis are, it allows you to pick up people from the street, but there are maximum rates set by the city, you need to navigate without GPS, etc. These are also restricted by amount.
> To become an All-London taxi driver or Green badge holder you need to master no fewer than 320 basic routes, all of the 25,000 streets that are scattered within the basic routes and approximately 20,000 landmarks and places of public interest that are located within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross.
> It takes the average person between 2 and 4 years to learn the knowledge, a lot however depends on how much time and effort they are willing to dedicate in learning it.
> If anything, this description understates the case. The six-mile radius from Charing Cross, the putative center-point of London marked by an equestrian statue of King Charles I, takes in some 25,000 streets. London cabbies need to know all of those streets, and how to drive them — the direction they run, which are one-way, which are dead ends, where to enter and exit traffic circles, and so on. But cabbies also need to know everything on the streets. Examiners may ask a would-be cabbie to identify the location of any restaurant in London. Any pub, any shop, any landmark, no matter how small or obscure — all are fair game. Test-takers have been asked to name the whereabouts of flower stands, of laundromats, of commemorative plaques. One taxi driver told me that he was asked the location of a statue, just a foot tall, depicting two mice sharing a piece of cheese. It’s on the facade of a building in Philpot Lane, on the corner of Eastcheap, not far from London Bridge.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/10/t-magazine/london-taxi-te...
London has more stringent requirements for private hires than much of the UK (especially relating to pollution), but ultimately most of the requirements essentially relate to equipment (pollution standards for the car, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, etc.) which while they form a cost to entry are nothing compared with a multi-year effort to learn a large part of London, or the tens/hundreds of thousands that medallions cost in many places.
I am familiar with "the knowledge" and while I think it's indeed impressive and I frankly I prefer taxis drivers that have local knowledge however is this still practical in 2017?
I am asking sincerely. Certainly "the knowledge" doesn't include local traffic conditions a la Waze.
Experience provides that, I guess. Waze is perhaps better in US grid style systems with lots of large, laid out roads but In London the streets are tiny and the traffic patterns very different. I think the traffic follows in a predictable ebb and flow pattern based on the week day and time, which you can pick up easily enough if you spend all day in it.
I've seen the Google maps traffic display in London and it's not terribly useful: all red everywhere at peak times, yellow/green off-peak.
It's anecdotal, but in London every taxi experience has been superior from a directions point of view. Uber sometimes gives drivers crazy directions that make no sense and the drivers just go along with it. That being said, Uber is a fair bit cheaper so it's all a trade off I guess.
Fankly, if I've got money I don't mind spending it on a black cab, I see it similar to supporting local businesses over buying off Amazon - a good idea for smaller purchases, but the discounts on larger items are often too good to turn down.
I agree that the level of professionalism of a London cabbie provides a comfortable experience. Certainly to to that of a Yellow cab driver in NYC. And this is one of those issues for me. Taxi drivers in NYC have no regard for blocking an intersections, blocking cross walks, running red lights and blowing the horn incessantly. The Uber/Lyft driver on the other hand seems to do these quite rarely. It's seems to be a much more considerate experience for both the passengers and pedestrians. I do certainly see the danger though if cities losing their cabs and Ubert/Lyft just becoming the new entrenched player.
- Holding a regular driving license for n years
- First aid training
- Taxi specific theory/practical driving test
- Passing extra vehicle tests (I know where I'm from they used to require taxis to be fitted with small fire extinguishers for example).
- Background check
"It has been called the hardest test, of any kind, in the world. Its rigors have been likened to those required to earn a degree in law or medicine. It is without question a unique intellectual, psychological and physical ordeal, demanding unnumbered thousands of hours of immersive study, as would-be cabbies undertake the task of committing to memory the entirety of London, and demonstrating that mastery through a progressively more difficult sequence of oral examinations — a process which, on average, takes four years to complete, and for some, much longer than that."
That's why Uber is so great: it is destroying this stupidity.