The implication is that the subsidised fares Uber offers are leading more people to use individual road transport.
Why do people frame this as "Uber vs Black Cabs"?
That completely misses out on the wider context of transport in London as a whole.
Why do people frame this as "Uber vs Black Cabs"?
That completely misses out on the wider context of transport in London as a whole.
I can't speak for others, but my tuppence as someone born in London, and who lived there for >30 years:
1) Black cabs are really expensive. So much so that I can count on one hand the number of times I've paid for one out of my own pocket.
2) Black cabs, despite the terms of their licence, are known to refuse to pick you up if they're going the other way, or refuse a fare if you're going to South London (where I was born).
3) I used to drive to and from work every day. Part of the journey took me along the A4/M4 towards Heathrow. There was a traffic jam every day, going home from work (towards Central London). This busy road had a bus lane. I don't recall ever seeing a bus going past me in that lane, but plenty of black cabs did. I don't see why a black cab should get to skip past the rest of us waiting 20 mins in traffic.
4) There are many taxi ranks where taxis wait for fares. For example, near Kings Cross station. 100% of the drivers leave their diesel engines running whilst they're waiting, right next to the pavement where people are walking. I don't like this unnecessary local pollution as I'm walking by.
5) Congestion charge (see my original comment).
Overall, my point is this: Uber and minicab firms work within the same road usage framework as other car owners. Black cabs are somehow exempt from this (which is unfair to begin with) when, given the time they spend on the road waiting to find a passenger, they cause much more congestion and pollution per passenger-mile than other cars.
How are cabs even relevant at all to the point your original post brings up?
"Indeed if TfL have any kind of ulterior motive for their actions, it is simply that they dislike the impact Uber are having on congestion within the capital"
I.E. Uber is adding a mass of cars to the street and worsening congestion, likely by offering cheaper fares and tempting people off busses and the tube.
Surely Black Cabs aren't relevant to that point?
They're totally relevant: the way that black cabs are regulated is evidence that limiting congestion isn't TfL's primary motivation here.
What you haven't got is evidence that Uber, by making cab travel cheaper, aren't making things a whole lot worse.
Black cabs are a distraction in this argument. It's Uber vs not-Uber. Trying to frame it as purely a protectionist matter is misleading.
If TfL were banning all minicabs then I could see how a conversation vs black cabs would make sense. But this is just one operator that has flouted regulations other app-based companies have not. They will be more than able to fill the void left by Uber.