Uber’s in a London broil
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LONDON — With their distinctive design and reassuring engine rumble, London’s black cabs stand out among Britain’s most cherished icons.
London’s black-cab drivers believe they are the best in the world. And, given their years of grueling study to earn the right to get behind the wheel in the British capital, it may well be true.
Black-cab drivers, many of whom earn a comfortable living, have all passed “the Knowledge,” the legendary test of geographical knowledge that dates back to the 19th century.
But, as GPS technology and the online ride-hailing app Uber threaten taxi businesses in cities across the globe, perhaps nowhere is the confrontation as resonant as in London, where a battle is brewing between the ultimate in British tradition and a Silicon Valley giant that symbolizes the new age of innovation.
Demand for the Knowledge has dipped since Uber opened its doors here in 2012. According to official figures, between 2012 and 2014, the number of students signing up to study the Knowledge fell by over a third.
“It’s in serious danger of becoming a novelty vehicle,” said Malcolm Linskey, 70, who for over three decades has run the Knowledge Point, one of London’s largest training schools for black-cab drivers.
The Knowledge requires students to memorize a mind-boggling 25,000 streets and 20,000-plus landmarks. It takes, on average, three years to complete — about the same time as a law degree.
The city’s private-hire drivers, a category that includes Uber, aren’t required to pass the Knowledge. They rely instead on GPS technology. It takes about three months to become licensed as a private-hire driver.
Unlike many other major cities, London does not limit its number of cabs. While London’s population has grown in recent years, the number of black-cab drivers has remained stable at around 25,000. By contrast, the number of private-hire drivers over the last three years has risen by more than a third to over 92,000.
Steve McNamara, the general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, a trade body, said Uber has exacerbated congestion and air pollution and cut traditional cabbies’ earnings by about 10 percent during the day and up to 25 percent at night.
“We are as much part of this community as red buses, and we are being threatened,” McNamara said. “We don’t want cowboys running around clogging up our streets.”
Uber has expanded quickly since launching in Britain, and today it has 20,000 drivers in London alone. Its supporters say it has ushered in choice and convenience and is usually much cheaper. A recent trip in a black cab from Waterloo station to Heathrow Airport cost $102. The same trip with Uber cost $68.
The ride hasn’t been easy for Uber, either. Traditional taxi drivers throughout Europe have railed against the California company, arguing that it circumvents the rules adhered to by conventional taxis. Its services have been barred or scaled back in countries from Spain to Belgium to France.
But change is in the air. The European Court of Justice is reviewing a case that could have widespread implications as it is expected to consider whether Uber is a digital service company or a transport company.
In London, a crackdown against Uber and other ridehailing apps could be looming with new proposals that could tip the advantage back to black-cab drivers.
Transport for London, the city’s transportation authority, has proposed new private-hire regulations that could address some of the criticisms of the black-cab industry. It claims Uber is operating in a similar fashion to black cabbies while bypassing their regulations, like learning the Knowledge.