
Uber offices raided in Paris by French police in 'car-pooling' controversy - grej
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/18/uber-offices-raided-in-paris
======
cssmoo
Every time someone kicks Uber down, all it does is make me more sympathetic to
their business. I've had nothing but expensive, shit service with no recourse
or customer support from _official regulated_ services. They operate like the
government does in the film Brazil.

~~~
aikah
while Uber is useful, let's not kid ourselves. they are just new middlemen
replacing the old ones.

I just can't bear Uber arrogance as they think they can just violate local
laws because they are "useful".There is no justification for that.

While there may be a specific mindset regarding the law in US, most European
countries do not work that way at all. French regulators will come very hard
on Uber if they think they can just ignore laws.

~~~
forrestthewoods
There is absolutely justification. Local laws are unnecessarily causing harm
to consumers. Uber is blatantly ignoring those laws to get consumers on their
side. This leads to the laws changing.

Seattle's broken ass cab system proposed creating a ride hailing app a few
years ago. They were stopped because no one was willing to update laws. Then
Uber and Lyft came in. Those laws have now been changed and the old, broken
system is being allowed to update to become slightly less shitty. It's still
awful though.

Uber plays a dangerous game. They know the risks. They're willing to take
them. I have zero issues with this. I do have issues with anti-consumer
regulations that primarily exist to protect entrenched business owners.

~~~
anon1385
More accurately:

Uninsured Uber drivers are causing harm to other road users. Uber is blatantly
ignoring the law to make more money at the expense of the rest of society.
This leads to Uber getting punished by the courts. No laws need changing.

------
at-fates-hands
From the article:

 _" The service uses non-professional drivers who may not be licensed or
insured, raising safety concerns. Some have poor local knowledge so
potentially offer a poor customer experience."_

Is this really common in France? To have an abundance of unlicensed and
uninsured motorists? I thought that was against the law in most countries. I
wouldn't think this would be a specific issue with Uber drivers if its the
case where this is common.

Also, doesn't Uber use people who live the areas they drive in? How would they
have poor knowledge of an area they live in?

~~~
babebridou
It is, actually, an issue specific to driving businesses, and Uber is far more
lenient than the law.

Uninsured and unlicensed drivers are normally very rare because many, many
people in large cities such as Paris (where Taxis services thrive) very rarely
drive. Companies such as Uber incentivize unlicensed and uninsured motorists
to drive by making it profitable with seemingly far less control than existing
businesses, hence the panic reaction and public debate on the matter.

Paris is relatively small but very dense, and can be maze-like. You can live
in Paris and be completely lost a few hundred meters away from your place.
Streets and directions are hard to follow and remember, and distances are
skewed by traffic, one-way-streets, pedestrian zones, bus lanes and cycle
lanes. Some streets open and close depending on the hour of the day/night or
the season. It can seriously be a mess and you simply can't assume you're
going to be a decent professional Parisian driver just because you live in
Paris.

Lastly we all have a proper ID, so it's absolutely viable not to have a
driver's license at all (provided you don't drive). Driving itself in Paris is
generally a time-sink and a money sink. You only drive when you don't have a
choice. For me, that's only when I'm on holiday away from the city.

Insurance is another matter, and yes it's illegal to drive an uninsured
vehicle, and you also need a special license to drive for profit.

~~~
at-fates-hands
Thanks for the clarification on all points, I had no idea Paris could be so
confusing.

------
danjones
I honestly don't understand what Uber is trying to accomplish with the
integration of non-professional drivers into it's taxi platform.

It's devaluing their actual taxi service. By failing to address the serious
safety concerns head on they're opening themselves up to litigation that they
don't need and also removing trust in the overall brand. All for what, getting
more drivers, you've got to ask, is it worth it?

~~~
dEnigma
Serious question: What exactly are the safety concerns? Both driver and
customer are easily identifiable since they both connect using the Uber app,
so it would be really stupid for either of them to commit a crime during the
ride. If you mean non-professional drivers having accidents in traffic, I
think that shouldn't be that much of a concern since everyone with a drivers
license should be able to get through traffic safely.

~~~
fweespeech
How much do you want to bet if I stole a driver's phone the app would stay
logged in and I could pretend to be them? A phone is much easier to take than
a car.

Even with a picture, I could just wear stuff that obscures my hair, etc. so
they wouldn't get a good look to the difference.

~~~
gambiting
The exact same argument applies to someone who steals an actual, licensed
taxi, and I don't think people worry about fake taxi drivers when they get a
cab.

~~~
DanBC
I agree, but people are warned about unlicenced cabs and many cab companies in
UK will send an SMS with details of the car - make, colour, licence plate
number - when you book because there was a problem of unlicensed cabs with
radio scanners taking passengers before the real cab got there.

------
tomblomfield
I travelled in an UberPOP during a recent trip to Paris last month. The driver
asked that I sit in the front seat because police had been pulling over
private cars with passengers in the back, trying to catch unlicensed cab
drivers.

------
yeahyeah
This nearly had me clicking, before I realized it didn't actually say 'car-
poodling'

