[uberR]

You guys are forgetting something, if everyone just did surge jobs the system would not work. Passengers would eventually get tired of drivers cancelling/waiting all the time and start looking at alternatives. On the other hand if every single Uber driver did this then Uber might have to look at its operations and maybe incentivise drivers not to do it. But problem is Uber has a lot of drivers and not all are doing this hence they are penalising the ones that are to get them into order.
Uber has this system in place to spread drivers across London or to guide them to specific areas in times of high demand, I agree the normal rates are not great, but there must be a better way of getting Uber to listen to the drivers concerns (if they would listen is another thing).
Like a lot of others have mentioned on this forum what this industry needs is for all PH drivers to get united and work towards getting better conditions from Operators in general. It is possible as proven by various other groups, but I guess the biggest problem at the moment is since almost anyone can get a PH badge (as long as they hold a license and pass the CRB) and a lot are willing to work under the current conditions due to various reasons which I will not mention here it is difficult to organise a full on strike or anything similar that would make everyone take notice.

 

[uberR]

Quote "If they wanted to spread drivers around a bit more, they can list the number of drivers currently waiting empty in each area/postcode, as do other minicab firms.

As they're "working hard" on getting similar done at Heathrow. "

Yes they definitely prob could do this, older minicab firms which do not have as many drivers as Uber this would not be an issue, but with Uber if I were to log in and see a high number of drivers everywhere it would prob put me off! by keeping drivers in the dark they can assure that they keep the drivers logged in. I would love to see the data for drivers online and number of rides requested broken down by hour and day for a week. Stuff like that could help us drivers plan around it and make the most of it but I guess they wont release such info.

 

[uberR]

Never was one for militant actions as they can just as easily go against you as for you.

Why not join the commercial game? - uber are building their brand based on price foremost and service availability second. Now AL build a brand (one I would say strongly challenged to whole London taxi trade) not on price as they charges very close to taxi rates but on service. A regular customer could be almost anywhere and know they would still get a car from AL.

Now you cannot do much about uber's prices but you can have a major effect on their service levels. Why don't a few of you go and have a meeting with one of the major operators and try and work out a deal that pays drivers better with better conditions. We all know how quick the bush telegraph can work once it gets out that XXX are treating drivers better that firm could have the pick of the very best drivers and generate an even bigger challenge based on service and quality at reasonable prices.

Yes in theory this would work but problem being most current uber passengers foremost would look at price if the service is acceptable. Also you would need a major operator/ or a new player with enough capital to challenge Uber that is willing to listen and provide a better pay for the driver. And also why would they only listen to a handful of drivers? if you could say signup thousands of drivers to a group then approach a big player you would have a bigger bargaining power.

GT lite for instance has better pay and incentives for drivers compared to Uber but they do not have the customer base anywhere close to that of Uber so drivers might try it at first but then revert back to Uber, or they might just run them side by side.

It all comes down to PH drivers (at least a considerable majority) getting together and working as one, regardless of which action/route you want to go down.

 

[uberR]

From what I have experienced with GTLite so far they do seem to have less of the ASAP bookings but I have been kept busy with account jobs which in truth are worth a lot more of my time.
It seems they are a company very much on the rise and trying very hard to keep their driver base happy before a big marketing push brings on more customers. Because happy drivers bring better service and that's what i want to be associated with.
Rather than doing what Uber have done and flood the streets with drivers so less and less jobs are available, it wont be long before dead milage will be a serious issue with Uber

For a full time driver it might be better, but as I do part time Uber seems to be the better option for me at the moment as I need to get the most jobs in the little time I have, and often I end up in areas which are out of GTlite coverage.

 

[uberR]

Exactly that is my view, no point going to surge zone if u are busy where u already. If you happen to be close to one and get lucky with surge job then that's a bonus. Or if you have been long enough with uber and know where it surges and around what time just log off and go to those areas and wait then when surge comes on log in and hope you are the lucky ones to get the surge job.