LONDON

The GMB union has launched legal action against London private car hire company Addison Lee over the dismissal of three drivers.

The challenge – which relates to contracts that were terminated earlier this year – is understood to be a test case for the union which could lead to action against hundreds of former drivers.

The drivers were dismissed following protests held in May over new contracts and changes to working hours.

Lawyers working on behalf of GMB claim the three drivers were treated unlawfully and are pursuing claims over failure to pay the national minimum wage, failure to pay holiday wages, and wrongful dismissal.

The new contract – which is meant to incentivise drivers to work at peak times – has resulted in a seven per cent boost to driver earnings, according to Addison Lee.

In May over 100 Addison Lee drivers blocked the road outside the office of Carlyle Group.

The union claimed at the time that Addison Lee, the UK’s largest minicab operator, cut drivers’ pay to compete with ride hailing app Uber in the capital.

A statement from the company read:

    Addison Lee drivers are engaged as independent contractors which means they are all self-employed. This gives them the freedom to offer their services as they wish. This flexibility means they can undertake other pursuits as well as drive for Addison Lee.

    Addison Lee prides itself on delivering the highest quality service in the industry. It maintains this by setting high standards for its drivers, particularly in relation to how they conduct themselves in public. In the interests of both customers and drivers, any drivers that fall below these standards can expect to have their contract terminated.

    In May, Addison Lee introduced a new and improved driver deal. The new deal has been welcomed with all of the company's 5,000 drivers signing up.


http://www.cityam.com/248283/drivers-union-gmb-goes-war-addison-lee-over-driver

-------------------------------------

 UBERK is experimenting with new pricing that lets passengers prepurchase rides in its cars at a flat, preset price.

The way Uber's pricing works now depends on time and distance traveled plus surge pricing, a multiple added to the ride during high-demand. It's a system that's detested because a $5 ride can easily become a $25 trip if you're not careful.

Starting in September, Uber is saying good-bye to surge pricing by quietly letting a small group of riders pay a different way by charging only a flat fee per ride.

"We're always thinking about ways to make Uber an affordable, everyday option, and this is a small beta we're running as part of that effort," an Uber representative told Business Insider. 

Business Insider stumbled across the test after only getting an email to try out the beta in San Francisco. 

 According to the invite, in San Francisco I can choose from a package of 20 trips for $20 or 40 trips for $30 for September.

After I pay for the package, I have either 20 or 30 rides to use at a flat-fare price. If I go above the number of prequalified rides — or above the $20 ride limit — then I start paying out of pocket.

In San Francisco, the flat fare is $2 for an UberPool ride, its shared-ride option, or $7 for an UberX, a private car to myself. 

 If someone takes all 20 rides on UberPool, then they'll be paying a total of $60 for 20 rides, or only $3 a piece. In San Francisco, that's only $0.75 more than the bus and way less than the $5 to $8 I typically pay for an UberPool ride.

While Uber hasn't publicly commented on the success of other experiments like this one, the fact that it's repeating it in larger markets could signal that it could become more widespread.

In July, Uber tested a similar $0.01 "Pool Pass" in Boston that had the same upfront cost structure and one-penny rides after that. While it was limited to one month in one location, the September tests are spread across six metros, including Miami, San Diego, Boston, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

In DC, for example, UberPool flat-fare rides will be as cheap as $1. Other cities will be as high as $3. For solo UberX, the testing ranges in the six locations are between $5 and $9. 

http://uk.businessinsider.com/uber-is-quietly-testing-flat-pricing-2016-8?r=US&IR=T


-------------------------------------------------

UBERK is losing money faster than any technology company ever, and it’s largely because of an essential component to the company’s operations: the drivers.

Bloomberg reports Uber lost $1.27 billion in the first half of this year, which is unprecedented, even for a tech company. By comparison, Amazon reported losses of $1.4 billion in 2000 during its biggest loss ever. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos fired 15 percent of his workforce as a result.

Uber is clearly playing by the same “grow first, make money later” edict of Silicon Valley, so it should be no surprise the company’s costs have increased as its operations expand into new cities. What is surprising, however, is that the biggest cost to the company is the fee it pays out to drivers. According to the Bloomberg report, driver subsidies account for a majority of losses in the first half of 2016.

That’s the same fact shown in leaked documents published by The Information earlier this year. The leaked documents showed Uber paying out $2.72 billion to drivers in the first half of 2015. By comparison, Uber lost only $72 million to promotions and price cuts during the same period.

Uber has been desperately (and quietly) trying to mitigate its losses to drivers. After lowering fares across North America to attract new customers, Uber began taking a greater percentage of driver’s fares (up to 30 percent now). Uber has instituted temporary hourly wage guarantees in some cities, but as Buzzfeed recently reported, Uber is still taking about one-third of their driver’s meager wages in cities across the country.

A recent Forbes report notes that gross bookings (fares charged to the app before drivers and customers get their cut) were way up in 2015. This fact is being touted as one of the biggest indicators that Uber’s business is doing well. So how can Uber make money if its always losing so much to its drivers?

Eventually, Uber will get rid of the drivers and turn a huge profit. Earlier this month, Uber announced it would begin allowing customers in downtown Pittsburgh to summon self-driving cars from their phones, indicating at least part of the company’s long-term business plan. Uber also acquired self-driving car company Otto for $300 million, showing its eagerness to advance its driverless car technology.

“It’s the case of business 101,” said Uber in a statement to Business Insider last year after its private finances were leaked. “You raise money, you invest money, you grow (hopefully), you make a profit and that generates a return for investors.”

The critical part that Uber omits is how it will earn a profit if it continues to lose most of its money to drivers. The answer is seems pretty obvious to me: just get rid of them.


http://goo.gl/0q7Jhf

---------------------------------------------------

UBERK users in London will soon be able to request a car up to 30 days in advance of their journey, the taxi app company has announced.

Passengers have previously only been able to book a vehicle once they are ready to leave.

Uber's business customers will have access to advanced bookings from 4pm on Thursday, with the option being made available to all of its two million London users over the next fortnight.

The capital is the first city in Europe to have the feature introduced on the Uber app.

Uber's general manager for London, Tom Elvidge, said: 'Instead of tapping a button a few minutes before you need your ride, you can now tell us hours or days in advance when you need a car and we'll do it for you.

'Many of our riders, especially business customers, have asked us to introduce this feature and we're really excited to bring it to Londoners from today.


http://goo.gl/cB4B2G

-----------------------------------------------------
DERRY

Taxi customers are being urged to brace themselves for what appears to be a sharp surge in fares.

One taxi driver said the public are in for a shock when they hear the new price structure.

Kieran (last name withheld), who works as an independent taxi driver, said the new regulations will mean that instead of a standard fare of £3 the fares will be charged from door to door with extra costs for waiting time and traffic congestion.

This could mean some fares soar, especially when taxis have to wait for considerable periods of time.

The new structure is also a concern for many drivers who feel that it is too much money.

Kieran said: “Some think it will cost people too much and they will be reluctant to take a taxi.”

He added that all taxi drivers will have to buy their own meter and pay £35 to have it sealed so the meters can’t be tampered with.

There will be four new rates of fare depending on the time of day or time of year.

Rate One refers to Monday to Friday from 6am to 8pm. The minimum fare will be £3 going up to £3.80 for the first mile and £1.60 a mile after that,

Rate Two deals with Monday to Thursday from 8pm to 6am. A mimimum charge will be levied at £3.40 reaching £4.20 for the first mile and £1.60 per mile after that.

Rate Three is Friday from 8pm to Monday at 6am and all bank holidays. There will be a minimum charge of £4.20 which will reach £5 after the first mile and £2.80 a mile after that.

Rate Four refers to Christmas and New Year from 2am on Christmas Eve to 6am on December 27 and for 24 hours starting at 8pm on New Year’s Eve. There will be a a charge of 20 pence for 54 seconds waiting time going up to £1 for four minutes and 30 seconds.

Kieran said there was mixed emotion about the new fare structure among taxi companies with some welcoming the move and others concerned that it could be bad for business.

http://www.derryjournal.com/news/taxi-fares-are-set-to-soar-1-7543653