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[Chittagong]

The Uber whistleblower: I’m exposing a system that sold people a lie

Exclusive: Mark MacGann says he has decided to speak out about firm to ‘right some fundamental wrongs’

www.theguardian.com

The senior role MacGann held at Uber between 2014 and 2016 put him at the heart of decisions taken at the highest levels of the company during the period in which it was forcing its way into markets in violation of taxi-licensing laws. He oversaw Uber’s attempts to persuade governments to change taxi regulations and create a more favourable business environment in more than 40 countries.

He said the ease with which Uber penetrated the highest echelons of power in countries such as the UK, France and Russia was “intoxicating” but also “deeply unfair” and “anti-democratic”.

 

[synchronicity]

The prospect of money and greed leads to corruption. What a strange pattern. We should investigate this.

 

[ManaByte]

Penetrated?

 

[Panajev2001a]

Taxi licensing laws are well… shite… they created monopolies with highly inflated licenses they cannot reform… nasty cycle.

At least

Penetrated?

share that Courvoisier bottle will ya ?

 

[Chittagong]

Penetrated?

Accurate tbh

 

[Begleiter]

There's people this will be embarrassing for - I'm sure the French will not be pleased with Macron - and lessons other similarly unethical firms will take away about how to behave bay and get away with it, but it's unsustainability that'll do for Uber.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Lobbying AKA bribes corrupts public official decision makers and law creators whom are earning fuck all. Shocker. Corporations have been owning that sector for far too long.

 

[dr_octagon]

Lobbying AKA bribes corrupts public official decision makers and law creators whom are earning fuck all. Shocker. Corporations have been owning that sector for far too long.

In UK at least, politicians have multiple sources of income and their partner may also be working. They also have expense policies which are rountinely misused.

Most will be bribed for unlimited greggs pasties, that's how low the bar is and integrity has long since left the govt.

 

[MastaKiiLA]

I hate the anti-employee stuff that I've read about, because the drivers really are the ones who make the company what it is. There was a clear lack of respect for them from the execs. Sadly, that's kinda expected.

The government lobbying thing, on the other hand, I'm a bit ambivalent about. Uber wanted to stretch into hundreds of countries. That's a lot of red tape to cross, and in most parts of the world, greasing palms greases wheels. If you want to get shit done, you have to get a bit dirty on the political side. That does mean running the oligarch/despot gauntlet. I don't want to judge the ethics of it outside of specific and well-defined cases. Otherwise, it's just a bit too murky for my comment.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

In the end this is just another one of ‘let’s go fast and break things’ Silicon Valley bro stuff.

If extremely well educated members of government cannot resist attempts by college dropouts (simplifying here) - what good is education for

 

[clarky]

Another "Guardian" files, fucking hate this paper. Big business doing slightly shady shit, news at 11.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Taxi licensing laws are well… shite… they created monopolies with highly inflated licenses they cannot reform… nasty cycle.

Yeah, the taxi industry already did what this news is trying to negatively portray Uber as doing.

Besides, I don't think Uber has ever even been profitable yet, its basically been a massive long term wealth redistribution from venture capitalists and the institutions that participated in its public offering to the drivers and users. I don't know how they have managed to keep getting funding because throwing $10 off $30 Uber Eats coupons at me like they do should not be sustainable, yet they keep doing it.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Yeah, the taxi industry already did what this news is trying to negatively portray Uber as doing.

Besides, I don't think Uber has ever even been profitable yet, its basically been a massive long term wealth redistribution from venture capitalists and the institutions that participated in its public offering to the drivers and users. I don't know how they have managed to keep getting funding because throwing $10 off $30 Uber Eats coupons at me like they do should not be sustainable, yet they keep doing it.

Last time they tried to reform the taxi industry in Italy, pre Uber I think, the taxi drivers blocked the roads to and from airports and as many train stations as they could.

A taxi license, like a spot at the local street market (similar story), costs a fortune. People will go in debt to take one as it is a way to make money by working and then reselling the license for a bit of a markup or at the same cost in the worst case scenario. Licenses are limited and tightly controlled by the “official” taxi industry.

In France, despite all the lobbying, they have laws where Uber drivers have to wait a minimum number of minutes (15 minutes) to pick you up even if they happened to be nearby: https://techcrunch.com/2013/12/28/u...-minutes-before-picking-you-up-in-france/amp/

 

[IDKFA]

What's been released so far has unfortunately not come as a huge surprise. Shame we can't discuss the most interesting aspects, but previous childish members ruined it for the rest of us.

 

[saturnalian]

Edit, wrong quote

 

[Wildebeest]

These companies lose money by the titanic load to build their market and get favourable regulation. The question is not so much are they able to provide an appealing service when they are getting huge amounts of funding to grow their business but what their service becomes when they have to make money and then will they themselves allow competition in the markets they have on lock down.

 

[MastaKiiLA]

Never had a single pleasurable experience with a taxi in ANY country (except Japan) I've been in, but especially America. Meanwhile I've had nothing but good experiences and pleasant rides in every Uber AND Lyft I've taken. Real-world experience speaks volumes, and the taxi "industry" just blows overall. These Guardian leaks are simply being released to generate more restrictive legislation and bad press for ride-share services, surely bought and paid for by the taxi industry that want their dying income levels back. The guy who leaked them might have been a Uber exec, but all execs work for cash, and I'm sure he was paid.

You know why Uber and Lyft have to persuade governments? Because the taxi industry has already set the same very precedent many decades ago via monopolies, and now that's what they have to do too.

It's strange how Uber and Lyft didn't work with the big taxi companies. Or maybe they did, and those taxi companies couldn't see the writing on the wall. In SEA, Grab and Jek have both partnered with the major taxi firms in that you'll find taxis available on that app. They also give you a grab anything option, along with a grab taxi or grab personal car options. So, they provide options for users. Taxis are usually cheaper than private cars too.

I, like you, hated US taxis. They don't stop for black people. So Uber was a godsend. There are a bunch of people who can't do taxis, and Uber/Lyft catering to them was always going to allow them to carve out a portion of the market. Seems like it's a significant part of the market. Taxi companies should have been partnered with Uber, in order to preserve their relevance.

Uber has failed miserably here in SEA, and I'm not sure why. Grab and Jek both rapidly expanded from transportation to food and p2p delivery services. Uber and Lyft missed a trick, especially with Indonesia's massive population.

 

[thefool]

I hate uber-eats so much. The terrible service, the cold food, the exploitation of workers, its effect on restaurant prices, its impact on mobility on cities, the idiotic non-sustainable non-productive economy around it.
Out of the many stupid things we have in our modern world, few annoy me as much as the popularization and dissemination of uber-eats.