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from the license?-we-don't-need-no-stinkin'-license! dept.
Uber will lose its license to operate inside London. The issue may be only a temporary setback since the license expires on September 30th and Uber can continue to operate in London while appealing the decision:
London's transportation agency dealt a major blow to Uber on Friday, declining to renew the ride-hailing service's license to operate in its largest European market. [...] "Uber's approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications," the agency, Transport for London, said in a statement.
[...] In issuing its decision, Transport for London, which is responsible for the city's subways and buses as well as regulating its taxicabs, declared that Uber was not "fit and proper" to operate in the city — a designation that carries significant weight in Britain. "Fit and proper" is a benchmark applied across different sectors of business and the charitable organizations in the country to ensure that people or organizations meet the requirements of their industry or specialty. Tests typically assess factors like an individual or company's honesty, transparency and competence, though there is no formal exam. In Uber's case, Transport for London said it examined issues of how it dealt with serious criminal offenses, how it conducted background checks on drivers and its justification for a software program called Greyball that "could be used to block regulatory bodies from gaining full access to the app."
Opinion: London's Uber Ban Is a Big Brexit Mistake
(Score: 5, Informative) by Unixnut on Sunday September 24 2017, @09:30AM (1 child)
> It's not clear to me that "the knowledge" is relevant any more, in these days of GPS navigation and real-time traffic data.
GPS navigation sucks in London. I don't know if it is all the tall dense buildings on narrow roads, the trees, or what, but getting a fix is hard in London, getting a fix in central London is impossible most of the time. And this is with me on foot in an "open space" on my GPS unit. Let alone trying to get a fix from within a faraday cage like a car cabin.
I sure find myself learning routes and using an A to Z [wikipedia.org] More often than planned due to the poor GPS lock in London, so there is still a need to know routes.
I can't tell you how many times when I take a minicab, the drivers GPS unit loses lock. The driver just continues in a straight line, pretending everything is OK, and hoping that they eventually get a lock. They eventually do, and then do a big U turn because they haven't a clue where they are going. Thankfully I pay a fixed cost for the ride, otherwise I would get very upset at this, but it does make the route take longer than it should. Sometimes when they lose lock and I am in a rush, I just direct them which way to go.
You should use things like GPS as an aid, not as a replacement for knowing where you are going.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 24 2017, @03:51PM
isn't there like 40 gazillion cameras in London, and they can't be tapped into for navigational purposes?!?