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Taxi industry launches anti-Uber ad campaign

1704 Views 17 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  UberPlates, 
Thelma & Louise (T&L)
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4290091.htm

I have also pulled a couple of articles out from Google sources relevant to Australia, some of which are a tad old admittedly - really the existing taxi industry has not a great deal to offer in regards to women's safety going on past history.

So how does Uber propose to prevent the same incidents from occurring with no screening process at all. ???

Personally I feel that it was a mistake of the taxi industry to go down this path. Too much history is already there with their service.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-...rent-the-way-to-get-women-home-safely/4960166

Perhaps more could be done to screen applicants at point of entry into the industry. Of the seven units of competence a prospective metropolitan taxi driver must acquire in Victoria, I could find only one element in one unit of competence that touches on the question of a driver's attitude towards women: ethical behaviour. The competence is described as follows: 'ethical behaviour that avoids any form of sexual harassment, or physical or mental abuse, or intimidation towards passengers and other road users is applied'.

Reports on research by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine suggest that there have been 25 cases of taxi-related assaults against women over a three-year period. In a bid to destroy evidence, taxi drivers have apparently tampered with the in-car security vision. In one reported case, a driver opened and closed the rear door of the vehicle in excess of one hundred times in an attempt to overload the camera's memory and wipe evidence of an attack.

John Silvester's article 'How hailing a cab can turn into a ride to hell' details just how predatory and calculating one driver was. He pulled over to 'help' a young woman intoxicated by drink and drugs who was also being assisted by four strangers. Those strangers kindly gave her money for the cab fare (the ATM withdrawal to cover the fare would later provide crucial evidence), ascertained her address from her driver's licence, manoeuvred her into the cab and sent her on her way. The driver (who had not been flagged) patiently waited about 20 minutes while all this took place. With the young woman 'safely' deposited in the cab the driver pulled over in the suburbs and raped her. Three times.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wes...dge-passenger-22/story-fnhocxo3-1227359913110

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/we-cant-ignore-the-reality-of-cab-attacks-20130920-2u56s.html

http://www.todaytonightadelaide.com.au/stories/taxi-assault
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g00r
Thelma & Louise (T&L) said:
So how does Uber propose to prevent the same incidents from occurring with no screening process at all. ???
Click to expand...
Sorry if this question was rhetorical.
Answer: Nothing

What do you propose?
Do psychometric surveys exist to identify risk individuals?
Should this be Uber's responsibility or the taxi directorate's?
Is there a problem that actually needs to be solved here?
In one of your posts yesterday, there was an article about all-female ride-sharing, which I don't have a problem with, but I think that there is no absolute way to prevent crime.
A certain number of assults will take place in ride-sharing cars, just as P platers will continue to kill themselves.

Mexico City has female only train carriages, which boostes ridership and made life easier for women. Great!
But what is the problem, proposed solution and desires outcome here?
What you seem to be asking of Uber (this time without mention of ethnicity ) is to make sure that its massive independent workforce are unlikely to ever commit a crime, I just wonder how this is to be accomplished?
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Jeffa0
This whole safety thing is bought up a lot in my rides..

My response is simple and usually I get 100% support/agreement.

If a driver of any service, taxi, uber, etc get's into a mind set that he's going to indecently assault you, a bloody camera isn't going to do much given that most drivers know where the hard drives are.
Also from a psyche perspective, the camera doesn't actually stop the perp from offending. You could call it a "discourager" but it's not actually a preventative measure.

Unless you put an erection detection device on the penis of every male driver and if they get a "hard on" it dials police with their GPS coordinates, then you'll never be able to 100% prevent these types of things from happening.
The best way is serious punishment, minimum jail terms and expulsion of hire & reward licenses.

In saying this, the he said she said rule can also ruin lives. Driver beware.
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Ghostwren
attempt to combat this misinformation campaign with facts:

Everyone should retweet and post on their FB page this:

https://theconversation.com/factcheck-is-ridesharing-no-safer-than-hitchhiking-45878

You could go comment on the article.

It's written and researched by one academic (Professor in Criminology) and then peer reviewed.

Let's get this article out there
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Sydney Uber
No means no.

When I drove cabs, if the conversation was controlled by a female and turned risqué, then there was a good chance you were going to get lucky.

There were things that needed to be said first by the woman. If the door was opened, I asked nicely.
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Ghostwren
Sydney Uber said:
No means no.

When I drove cabs, if the conversation was controlled by a female and turned risqué, then there was a good chance you were going to get lucky.

There were things that needed to be said first by the woman. If the door was opened, I asked nicely.
Click to expand...
That's professional.

Bet those ladies were thrilled to wake up next to their cabby?
Maybe they even cracked a smile for you in between panadol, asking your name and chunder bucket?
Or did you make a quick exit?

If it's not cool for the train driver, bus driver, PSO, police officer, and any body else in society to have sex with a woman whilst attempting to help her 'safely' get to where she wants to go.....

WHY is it OK for A CAB DRIVER???

A perk is it?
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Sydney Uber
Ghostwren said:
That's professional.

Bet those ladies were thrilled to wake up next to their cabby?
Maybe they even cracked a smile for you in between panadol, asking your name and chunder bucket?
Or did you make a quick exit?

If it's not cool for the train driver, bus driver, PSO, police officer, and any body else in society to have sex with a woman whilst attempting to help her 'safely' get to where she wants to go.....

WHY is it OK for A CAB DRIVER???

A perk is it?
Click to expand...
Geez Louise, I guess if you live in vacuum and enjoy your own company then I can understand where you are coming from.

If you read what I wrote I prefaced the post with "No means No".

There ARE woman out there, in the course of a 30-60 minute cab trip, that do make THEIR OWN judgement as to whether the chance meeting should lead to something more.

You don't give your fellow ladies much credit do you?

The situation where the woman was violated is indefensible. You are one sick puppy thinking I'm like that.

No, they were never drunk, just healthy, horny Women.

Yes there was one quick exit, I couldn't help noticing the Lady who had invited me in had photos of her with a prominent NRL player at the time. When she woke me up saying "he's come home early, his car's just pulled up!!" Was enough for me to scurry out the back with clothes and shoes bundled in my arms!
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Ghostwren
Sydney Uber said:
Geez Louise, I guess if you live in vacuum and enjoy your own company then I can understand where you are coming from.

If you read what I wrote I prefaced the post with "No means No".

There ARE woman out there, in the course of a 30-60 minute cab trip, that do make THEIR OWN judgement as to whether the chance meeting should lead to something more.

You don't give your fellow ladies much credit do you?

The situation where the woman was violated is indefensible. You are one sick puppy thinking I'm like that.

No, they were never drunk, just healthy, horny Women.

Yes there was one quick exit, I couldn't help noticing the Lady who had invited me in had photos of her with a prominent NRL player at the time. When she woke me up saying "he's come home early, his car's just pulled up!!" Was enough for me to scurry out the back with clothes and shoes bundled in my arms!
Click to expand...
Methinks you're in the wrong industry....there is only one I can think of where sex is in the line of duty
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Jeffa0
This reminds me of the "I'm a sports coach, I coach 16-20 year old girls in football and one made an advance on me".

Doesn't make it right, doesn't give you a right and you have no right.

At the end of the day, you are providing a service. If the person wants your number to maybe go a date at later notice, then sure, but you should never, ever just after their trip advance with them.
You are completely leaving your self WIDE open for a charge.
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Sydney Uber
Jeffa0 said:
This reminds me of the "I'm a sports coach, I coach 16-20 year old girls in football and one made an advance on me".

Doesn't make it right, doesn't give you a right and you have no right.

At the end of the day, you are providing a service. If the person wants your number to maybe go a date at later notice, then sure, but you should never, ever just after their trip advance with them.
You are completely leaving your self WIDE open for a charge.
Click to expand...
You are absolutely right in this day and age Jeffao. Living in the 80s & 90s as a single person, people didn't need to read the warning labels of life, they had judgement and a truer understanding of what was going on. If a adult female wanted company and made it clear then their was no duplicity about it. She made the judgement call who she wanted to be with.

These days I've witnessed 20-30yr olds with tertiary educations having to consult with their many social media friends whether she should or shouldn't "go" with a guy. Crikey! What's it gotta do with what anyone else thinks? It's a totally natural, every-second occurrence in the world!

I knocked back na few offers, because they were passed a couple of drinks and very upset, but we sat and talked. But if she was a happy Nymph why complicate things?
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Sydney Uber
Ghostwren said:
Methinks you're in the wrong industry....there is only one I can think of where sex is in the line of duty
Click to expand...
Where did I say that?

Two people doing it, after spark of shared interest, consensually has happened throughout the ages. Why put a 3rd person's uptight morals in the way of a natural encounter?

It maybe because I'm a Scorpio, because I'm 99% sure you can't be.
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Ghostwren
Sydney Uber said:
Where did I say that?

Two people doing it, after spark of shared interest, consensually has happened throughout the ages. Why put a 3rd person's uptight morals in the way of a natural encounter?

It maybe because I'm a Scorpio, because I'm 99% sure you can't be.
Click to expand...
Pool boy is the official perk job ain't it? What were you thinking?

:)
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Ghostwren
Sydney Uber said:
Where did I say that?

Two people doing it, after spark of shared interest, consensually has happened throughout the ages. Why put a 3rd person's uptight morals in the way of a natural encounter?

It maybe because I'm a Scorpio, because I'm 99% sure you can't be.
Click to expand...
And therein lies your answer Mr Scorpio

Taurus. We are never ever going to get along.
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Taxi Driver in Arizona
A few years back a woman ten years my senior straight up offered to have me in for a quick shag. I politely declined, but I took her number and called her the next day for a proper date. We went out to dinner and then back to her place for a nice evening.

Does that make me a rapist?

Sometimes people just hit it off for whatever reason.
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Ghostwren
Taxi Driver in Arizona said:
A few years back a woman ten years my senior straight up offered to have me in for a quick shag. I politely declined, but I took her number and called her the next day for a proper date. We went out to dinner and then back to her place for a nice evening.

Does that make me a rapist?

Sometimes people just hit it off for whatever reason.
Click to expand...
Not at all, makes you a gentleman
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Ghostwren
Thelma & Louise (T&L) said:
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4290091.htm

I have also pulled a couple of articles out from Google sources relevant to Australia, some of which are a tad old admittedly - really the existing taxi industry has not a great deal to offer in regards to women's safety going on past history.

So how does Uber propose to prevent the same incidents from occurring with no screening process at all. ???

Personally I feel that it was a mistake of the taxi industry to go down this path. Too much history is already there with their service.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-...rent-the-way-to-get-women-home-safely/4960166

Perhaps more could be done to screen applicants at point of entry into the industry. Of the seven units of competence a prospective metropolitan taxi driver must acquire in Victoria, I could find only one element in one unit of competence that touches on the question of a driver's attitude towards women: ethical behaviour. The competence is described as follows: 'ethical behaviour that avoids any form of sexual harassment, or physical or mental abuse, or intimidation towards passengers and other road users is applied'.

Reports on research by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine suggest that there have been 25 cases of taxi-related assaults against women over a three-year period. In a bid to destroy evidence, taxi drivers have apparently tampered with the in-car security vision. In one reported case, a driver opened and closed the rear door of the vehicle in excess of one hundred times in an attempt to overload the camera's memory and wipe evidence of an attack.

John Silvester's article 'How hailing a cab can turn into a ride to hell' details just how predatory and calculating one driver was. He pulled over to 'help' a young woman intoxicated by drink and drugs who was also being assisted by four strangers. Those strangers kindly gave her money for the cab fare (the ATM withdrawal to cover the fare would later provide crucial evidence), ascertained her address from her driver's licence, manoeuvred her into the cab and sent her on her way. The driver (who had not been flagged) patiently waited about 20 minutes while all this took place. With the young woman 'safely' deposited in the cab the driver pulled over in the suburbs and raped her. Three times.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wes...dge-passenger-22/story-fnhocxo3-1227359913110

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/we-cant-ignore-the-reality-of-cab-attacks-20130920-2u56s.html

http://www.todaytonightadelaide.com.au/stories/taxi-assault
Click to expand...
Fresh article out today, http://www.theguardian.com/commenti...ven-up-driving-cabs-the-industry-has-no-shame

And not sure if you've read this? http://www.theage.com.au/comment/why-i-hail-uber-and-damn-taxis-20150528-ghbmxi.html
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Jeffa0
I quote from your second article..

Is it any wonder we are all using Uber instead of being victims "of the monopoly you have held for so long? Ah yes, the U word, the company you complain is unfair. To an extent you are right: Uber drivers aren't adhering to driver conduct policies, fatigue management codes, special needs facilities, routine roadworthiness checks, zero blood alcohol rules and criminal history checks. Nor, it would seem, is Uber paying appropriate tax (the Australian Tax Office recently announced Uber X drivers will need to collect and pay GST).

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/why-i-hail-uber-and-damn-taxis-20150528-ghbmxi.html#ixzz3ilKzring
Follow us: @theage on Twitter | theageAustralia on Facebook"

----------

I would argue that TD's also don't adhere to pretty much any of the above except for maybe tax?.
Fatigue management?? I've on NUMEROUS occasions, had to keep my cab driver awake cause he was actually starting to feel asleep at the wheel.
Zero blood?? Who tests this, if you're a owner/operator you're no different from an uber driver. The only way you'll get checked is if you're pulled over.

I love the article otherwise :)
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UberPlates
Sydney Uber said:
there was a good chance you were going to get lucky.
Click to expand...

Sorry, had to do it! :D I mean, who doesn't like Daft Punk?! :p
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