Before we start talking about:
• Whether the signs at the O2 are lawful or not...
• whether Taxify can legally use the name or not....
• Whether the number of PH drivers should be capped or not...
•Whether Uber's working model deems them employers or not...
•Whether they should have a landline or not...
•Whether they should have their operators license revoked or not...
Before we concern ourselves with any of the above, do not forget
Uber's operation is illegal !
LETS NOT GET DISTRACTED!
Any talk about how their operation can be contained only serves to legitimise their modus operandi.
Should the trade issue a statement that we no longer recognise Mike Brown as regulator of the licensed taxi trade.
If Uber are continually circumventing the law, and if TFL have failed - with intent- in their duty to enforce laws parliament have deemed fit to keep in place, then why are we doing things by the book.
I believe we are afforded a unique opportunity, albeit finite, to organise ourselves outside of the usual prescribed parameters of doing things.
In the first instance, The trade should issue a statement that we no longer recognise Mike Brown as regulator or arbiter of the licensed taxi trade.
He is an appointed official therefore is operating without advocacy, and we cannot align ourselves with a regulator that does not work in the interests of the trade. He has overseen the utter decimation to the potential earnings of sole traders who are forced to meet the inflated running costs of a TFL authorised vehicle.
The well-being of the licensed taxi industry is synonymous with the well-being and safety of the travelling public, he has therefore, unequivocally, failed on both accounts.
But most of all, the tried and tested formulas of dealing with Trade disputes, or changes to prevailing standards, no longer apply.
Silicone Valley has changed the rules entirely.
Effectively, an off shore company has walked in to Britain and been allowed to run roughshod through UK legislation. By allowing them to operate, TfL has set a precedent that big dollar corporations can dictate UK policy. No one, no matter what industry you are in, should welcome that, and it's crucial to convey the magnitude of that to the public.
The only way I can see it working is if we are a bigger disrupter than the disruptors.
I believe if we could galvanise support from rank and file drivers and bring London's economy to a grinding halt, every day for a week, or even more, we could then call the shots and Uber's operation will either be shut down or tailored to our terms.
Furthermore, it will also deem us as a mighty force to be reckoned with and will discourage future 'viral' infiltrations into the trade.
But we need the numbers, and we need the impetus!
Ask the powerful these five questions:
1) What power have you got?
2) Where did you get it from?
3) In whose interests do you exercise it?
4) To whom are you accountable?
5) And how can we get rid of you?”
If you cannot get rid of the people who govern you, you do not live in a democratic system.
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