Yeah... kind of. In bigger places, maybe it has a meaning. But for example in Bath the driver literally bragged to me that people can complain that the taxi is late or never arrived, but they're just contractors renting the radio equipment. The dispatch doesn't care even if you complain to them, so they can do whatever they want. As I was sitting in his cab... so not sure what that was supposed to achieve.
On the other hand the one time I actually noted feedback on the Uber drive, it resulted in follow up questions and generally was handled well. (that was in Singapore)
> My g/f tells me when she's in an Uber she spends so much time trying to be "pleasant" to get a good rating
Interesting. I just pretty much never talk to cab drivers. Yet some make a point of telling me I got 5 stars from them, so that I give them 5 stars too...
Your taxi driver in Bath is embodying the stereotype of the taxi driver who is ignorant of the subject. Xe has alas conveyed that ignorance to you. What you state as second-hand fact is anything but.
The law that covers taxis and private hire vehicles in Bath is Part 2 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. It is at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1976/57/part/II . B&NES Council is one of several local authorities to have adopted what are essentially uniform local bylaws. Other local authorities retain their own (sometimes much earlier) bylaws, but their differences from the Act are usually that they are even stricter.
It is interesting to contrast the actual U.K. law (which has been around since 1976) with discussion on this WWW page.
* It is illegal under section 69 of the Act for either hackney carriage or private hire vehicle drivers to prolong journeys.
* It is illegal under section 48 of the Act for licensing authorities to refuse to licence private hire vehicles simply in order to render licences a scarce commodity.
* It is illegal under section 64 of the Act for someone to park something other than a licensed hackney carriage on a hackney carriage stand (one of the ways that people could impersonate taxis).
* It is illegal under section 71 to tamper with taximeters.
* Section 66 of the Act prohibits the practice of charging something greater than what is on the meter just because the journey ends outwith the jurisdiction of the licensing authority, and "those rules don't apply out here, mate".
Examples of even stricter non-uniform bylaws are bylaws that ...
* ... require that the driver assist with luggage and not refuse a fare with luggage if the vehicle is designed to carry it;
* ... require that drivers carry all lost property to a police station;
* ... require that the meter not be run when not hired, not be hidden or obscured, and be lit at night;
* ... have detailed requirements on furnishing, such as cushions; or
* ... prohibit advertisements on the windows of such vehicles
Yeah... kind of. In bigger places, maybe it has a meaning. But for example in Bath the driver literally bragged to me that people can complain that the taxi is late or never arrived, but they're just contractors renting the radio equipment. The dispatch doesn't care even if you complain to them, so they can do whatever they want. As I was sitting in his cab... so not sure what that was supposed to achieve.
On the other hand the one time I actually noted feedback on the Uber drive, it resulted in follow up questions and generally was handled well. (that was in Singapore)
> My g/f tells me when she's in an Uber she spends so much time trying to be "pleasant" to get a good rating
Interesting. I just pretty much never talk to cab drivers. Yet some make a point of telling me I got 5 stars from them, so that I give them 5 stars too...