Should diesel vehicles be banned from the city centre?

[Cyclone]

Uber isn't a sharing platform, it's just an app for calling a regular old taxi, governed by the same laws (in the UK) as if you'd phoned one.

AirBnB is just a website for finding short term lets, these are governed by the contract formed (dependent on the country you're renting in).

 

They do something new in that they make the small transaction possible and profitable, whereas previously there was no practical way to advertise a flat to let in Sheffield city centre for a week to a global audience. That's disruptive to the industry because previously travellers were stuck with hotels or b&b's who have overheads to cover and so a floor price exists.

Uber in the UK isn't really disruptive at all, they're only making in roads because they're under pricing travel (arguably), and they're a huge company which allows them to use that power to under price consistently. They've added a few bells and whistles, you can see where your taxi is and how long it will take to get to you and you pay on account.

 

Lyft sounds more disruptive, but can it legally operate in the UK? I can't find an answer to that on google.

 

Re:Unregulated, risky. You said dig a little deeper, I guess you didn't mean this.

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2973581/uber-misleads-customers-around-safety-prosecutors-say.html

 

Uber has failed to screen out criminals from its drivers, prosecutors allege, including 25 drivers who had been convicted of crimes including murder, sex offenses, kidnapping, and assault.

 

District attorneys in Los Angeles and San Francisco issued their charges in an amended complaint after accusing Uber in December of misleading customers over its background checks.

 

and

 

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/02/uber-driver-company-isnt-paying-the-full-80-of-a-fare-that-im-owed/

 

Uber scamming drivers.

 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/tech/ceo-travis-kalanick-caught-on-video-arguing-with-his-uber-driver/story-NfrLNRfXhHQnlObTY9VknN.html

 

http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/19/14664474/uber-sexism-allegations

[geared]

Lyft flies very close to breaking the law over here, I'm sure if it became more mainstream the authorities would crack down very hard on it.

 

To operate any kind of Taxi you need the relevant licence and insurance, not doing so is illegal and will land you in trouble.

 

It's also worth remembering that operating AirBnB needs to be done so with permission from your mortgage lender (if you have one).

[tinfoilhat]

Lyft flies very close to breaking the law over here, I'm sure if it became more mainstream the authorities would crack down very hard on it.

 

To operate any kind of Taxi you need the relevant licence and insurance, not doing so is illegal and will land you in trouble.

 

It's also worth remembering that operating AirBnB needs to be done so with permission from your mortgage lender (if you have one).

 

Speaking of airbnb. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39528479

[Puggie]

Re:Unregulated, risky. You said dig a little deeper, I guess you didn't mean this.

 

What you've got to remember is that companies like Lyft and Uber are tech brands with technology being used as part of the enrollment process for both drivers and riders.

 

There are probably millions of drivers alone spread over 500 cities so the number of bad apples is miniscule in relative terms. Technology is making this possible not statutory instruments. On sharing platforms trust = money. There's a strong financial incentive for them to tweak things when shortcomings are exposed.

 

If you think our local councils operate a fancy online system that cross-checks an applicant's details against numerous 3rd party databases in realtime then think again!

 

We need not look far beyond our doorstep to find numerous instances of our system not working - like here, and here, and here.

 

Uber isn't a sharing platform, it's just an app for calling a regular old taxi

 

They have to comply with UK law which forces them to operate as a licenced mini cab firm. It's not where they want to be and it's not what they're about.

 

Hopefully that will all change later on this year. A two-tier system will allow non-taxi drivers to be compensated for fuel and other running expenses on a £/per mile basis without crossing the legal for-profit threshold. It will be a carpooling service in every sense of the word.

Edited April 9, 2017 by Puggie

[Cyclone]

Nobody said anything about real time checks against 3rd party databases.

A criminal records check though, yeah, I think the council operate one. Presumably it's DBS

https://www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/overview

What "3rd" parties did you imagine would be involved in not hiring people who might be a danger to passengers, who had no driving license or weren't legally allowed to work?

 

Obviously checks don't stop future criminal acts, nobody made a claim remotely like that. Uber however wasn't checking. Uber in fact seems to make a habit of ignoring state or federal law when it's convenient for it to do so. Uber even created a bit of technology to actively avoid checks by the authorities in some countries.

They're not a nice company. They seem to have adopted a motto almost opposite to google's "do no evil".

 

What's the incentive for a petrol/running costs compensation scheme? Is it just that you get to split the cost of the journey, one that you were already planning to make?

[Puggie]

What's the incentive for a petrol/running costs compensation scheme? Is it just that you get to split the cost of the journey, one that you were already planning to make?

 

As you can imagine Uber already have a large user base so they'll be able to introduce the service with relative ease. When you launch the app the new service will just appear as another bubble at the bottom of the screen.

 

The incentive for everyday drivers will be a large chunk of your fuel and insurance costs will be covered by the platform in return for sharing your car on a journey you are already making.

 

For example Puggie in Ranmoor is just about to start his 20 minute drive to Meadowhall. Two minutes into the journey he gets a 'ping' with a ride request from Adam in Broomhill who also wants a lift to Meadowhall (or somewhere in the vicinity). Puggie is rewarded for every mile that Adam is carpooling with him.

 

I also expect there will be a 'silent rewards' scheme to further incentivise carpooling drivers. Of course to comply with the law these will be rewards for qualitative metrics like receiving good feedback from riders etc.

 

Google are also getting excited about carpooling. Their 'Waze' platform is already popular with UK drivers who plug in their destinations to find the best route. Google hopes to use their existing Waze customer base to introduce a carpooling service. [

]

 

As for insurance - The ABI (Association of British Insurers) say this:

 

"All ABI motor insurers have agreed that your insurance cover will not be affected if your passengers contribute towards your journey costs (including fuel, vehicle depreciation and associated vehicle running costs), as long as lifts are given in a vehicle seating eight passengers or less. This does not apply if you make a profit from payments received or if carrying passengers is your business." [Source]

 

This means carpooling will be covered under our existing SD&P policies.

Edited April 10, 2017 by Puggie

[Phili Buster]

Assuming that we all change to electric vehicles, where is all the electric needed to recharge these electric cars coming from? Especially as recent reports have intimated the possibility of power cuts / reductions during a harsh winter.

 

Also, at the moment electric powered vehicles are promoted as being cheap to run due to the lower cost of electricity but will this still be the case in the future. Is it true that recharging points currently provide cheaper (possibly free) electricity to recharge your electric vehicle? However what will happen in the future when there will be no option but to use the recharging point whatever the cost. Look at the cost of petrol / deisel in remote areas where there is little or no competition.

 

With regard to the battery, how is the battery performance (i.e. range of travel) affected by cold (freezing) winter weather? Especially when using the battery to power heater, air conditioning, rear screen heater, lights, electric gadgets (radio, sat nav, recharge phone, heated seats, heated steering wheel etc). Will the battery have enough power available to get out of the garage

[Eater Sundae]

Assuming that we all change to electric vehicles, where is all the electric needed to recharge these electric cars coming from? Especially as recent reports have intimated the possibility of power cuts / reductions during a harsh winter.

 

Also, at the moment electric powered vehicles are promoted as being cheap to run due to the lower cost of electricity but will this still be the case in the future. Is it true that recharging points currently provide cheaper (possibly free) electricity to recharge your electric vehicle? However what will happen in the future when there will be no option but to use the recharging point whatever the cost. Look at the cost of petrol / deisel in remote areas where there is little or no competition.

 

With regard to the battery, how is the battery performance (i.e. range of travel) affected by cold (freezing) winter weather? Especially when using the battery to power heater, air conditioning, rear screen heater, lights, electric gadgets (radio, sat nav, recharge phone, heated seats, heated steering wheel etc). Will the battery have enough power available to get out of the garage

 

Night time recharging would help to balance demand across each day.

[Flexo]

Assuming that we all change to electric vehicles, where is all the electric needed to recharge these electric cars coming from?

 

Most charging takes place at home overnight. We're reaching the confluence of several maturing technologies - renewable energy, electric vehicles and smart metering. The car will work with the meter to choose when to charge up. The grid controllers will have the ability to instruct cars to cease low priority charging for a while if there is a shortage, though they anticipate rarely having to use that facility.

 

An EV is a big battery and a computer on wheels. There are various trials taking place of using the EVs as energy storage so peaks in demand can be smoothed out. As an example to help illustrate the amounts of energy: In the UK, when we reach just 300,000 EVs on the road (just a few years away), if we were to take just 1kWh from each during a peak time then we'd need 5 fewer power stations. Full electrics have from 20 to 100kWh capacity so 1kWh is trivial.

 

Charge networks are rapidly growing in size and there are several competitors. The market will determine the long term pricing. Unlike networks of petrol stations, this is something that anyone can fit in their car parks or at home quite easily.

 

With regard to the battery, how is the battery performance (i.e. range of travel) affected by cold (freezing) winter weather?

 

Range is reduced slightly in cold temperatures.

 

Use of lighting, heating etc will make no notable difference. The average UK home uses 9kWh of energy a day - an EV stores several times that amount.

 

I hope that helps! There are several websites where you can find out more (this thread isn't specifically about EVs).

[Phili Buster]

... The car will work with the meter to choose when to charge up. The grid controllers will have the ability to instruct cars to cease low priority charging for a while if there is a shortage ...

 

... There are various trials taking place of using the EVs as energy storage so peaks in demand can be smoothed out. ...

 

Charge networks are rapidly growing in size and there are several competitors. The market will determine the long term pricing. Unlike networks of petrol stations, this is something that anyone can fit in their car parks or at home quite easily.

 

 

 

Thanks for info, just picked out parts of your reply which I found very informative, thanks.

 

About the charging points, although charging points can be fitted in car parks or at home, we may still be in the grip of the power supply companies unless we install our own private supply be that via wind or sun. However this will be more of a problem for those living in multi-storey accommodation (flats).