Tag Archives: taxis

Andy Briggs

TfL’s Uber decision is no victory for liberalism

By Andy Briggs | Sat 23rd September 2017 - 8:55 am

The decision taken by Transport for London to revoke Uber’s licence undermines a key theme of Vince Cable’s speech from just a few days ago, a belief in competitive markets. Whilst the company has only operated in the capital for a relatively short time, the benefits it has bought to London’s transport market for both Londoners and tourists alike have been numerous. Uber not only provides a cheaper, more accessible transport solution to its customers, but it has also forced its competitors to innovate, an example being black cabs now accepting card payments, freeing their users from having to carry large amounts of cash. If the Liberal Democrats are to be a proud champion of enterprise, the party should feel no shame in its support for companies such as Uber, which provide choice to consumers in what is otherwise a monopolistic market.

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Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 55 Comments
Christopher Hall

Opinion: Tech should disrupt markets, not destroy values

By Christopher Hall | Fri 6th February 2015 - 3:00 pm

TAXI SPOTTech should disrupt markets, not destroy values: taxis should be seen as a testbed for the future of digital regulation.

Tech companies can be categorised in two ways. There are those whose principle objectives are based on finance and market share. While they may be selling technology developed in the 21st Century, their ideological heritage is rooted in the 1980s – more Gordon Gekko than Jimmy Wales. These companies don’t take no for an answer, even from politicians. Silicon Valley can be so macho, right?

The second group is more big society, than big business. These companies are driven as much by a desire to make things better, as they are to make more money. And they understand that social returns and financial returns don’t have to be exclusive.

In reality, there are many companies in between. But for those interested in policymaking, this distinction has become more important over the last year, as European regulators sought to push back against many famous names from Silicon Valley.

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Posted in Op-eds | 16 Comments
Jim Hardaker

Opinion: End this taxi madness

By Jim Hardaker | Tue 8th April 2014 - 11:33 am

TAXI SPOTI climb into the driving seat of a taxi to respond to a call.

I pick up my passengers; it’s a school run. Halfway to school the phone rings again. I have an earpiece so I answer it. It’s another job, so I grab the radio and send another driver.

We’re nearly at the school now. The roads are busy. I’m concentrating, but the phone rings again. This time it’s a booking for later today, and I can’t write it down at the moment so I try to keep it in my head.

While I’m trying to make a mental note of those details, I can see another call waiting in the background. I hang up and that call comes through. Someone wants a quote for an airport run, and since I can’t write their number down and get back to them, I try to recall the price from memory as best I can.

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Posted in Op-eds | 7 Comments
Sarah Ismail

Opinion: How do we get home?

By Sarah Ismail | Fri 20th April 2012 - 11:10 am

I am a physically disabled Liberal Democrat member living in London and have held a Taxicard for about 5 years now. For those who don’t know this, a Taxicard allows Londoners with mobility problems subsidised trips in black taxis within London boroughs.

On Good Friday, I asked the London Taxicard service a simple question. It was a question I have asked them several times before: How many trips do I have left?

The answer? 52.  The next question: When is that up to? Here comes the unpleasant surprise: That’s for the whole year.

Fifty-two trips a year? That’s one trip a week, I …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 22 Comments
Sara Bedford

Daily View 2×2: 12 January 2010

By Sara Bedford | Tue 12th January 2010 - 8:55 am

On this day in 2001, Sven Goran Eriksson took over as manager of the England football team. On the same day, the carers of eight year old Victoria Climbié, who died after being tortured and fed like a dog, were found guilty of her murder, leading to questions being asked of Haringey Social Services.

Today is the 281st anniversary of the birth of Edmund Burke. It’s also the 59th and 56th birthdays respectively of  US radio ‘personalities’ Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern.

2 Big Stories

Four steps to a fairer Britain

Yesterday saw Nick Clegg set out the priorities which will be at the heart of the party’s …

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Posted in Daily View and General Election | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and | Leave a comment
Alex Foster

Daily View 2×2: 10 December 2009

By Alex Foster | Thu 10th December 2009 - 7:48 am

Good morning and welcome to Daily View. 10th December is the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death and the first awards of the Nobel Prize in 1901. Today we also sing happy birthday to Emily Dickinson and Ada Lovelace.

The numerical elements of this post break down a little, as you’ll see.

Must-Read Blog Posts

What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are some posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator:

OnePlace to rule them all

As we reported yesterday, the Audit Commission launched One Place, a website listing government inspection results of all local authorities. And reviews of their own councils have been exercising some Lib Dem bloggers since the site came back up yesterday afternoon:

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Posted in Daily View | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and | Leave a comment
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