What's this new manner of Uber-fuckery?
So what's the matter with this new Uber app that everyone keeps blabbering about? I'm seeing taxi drivers around the world having their knickers in a twist about this new "threat" to their business, and a hysterical campaign hyping up the several cases of passenger abuse (rape, mugging, to name but a few transgressions by illicit quasi-taxi drivers operating via the new app) being hyped up around the media. Even some governments have already banned using Uber.
I get the argument of the taxi drivers, I really do (some of my best friends are taxi drivers! heh). These new brand of self-appointed transporters are not paying any taxes anywhere, nobody knows who they are and what security they provide, they can't be tracked in case they do something bad to their passenger, etc. And there's also the home security rationale: essentially, you order a ride from your home to a restaurant, some unchecked driver turns up who now knows your home is empty for the next couple of hours. Bonanza!
And when you leave a bad review because you find your house ransacked after you get home, next day you've got three big blokes dressed in fancy suits knocking at your door wanting to have a chat with you. Because apparently they've found a way to exploit a vulnerability on the website of the ride-sharing Uber service, the cross-site scripting bug essentially being compromised via theft of cookies, personal details and authentification credentials.
Of course, the more important issue here is if they could work out some way of vetting their drivers (for obvious reasons), that wouldn't be too bad indeed. And it would be nice if they could find a way to address some of the "minor flaws" of presumably the few "bad apples" among their drivers, who've been beating passengers up, kidnapping passengers, running over pedestrians, raping passengers, and performing other "fun activities".
But hey, just think how much money you could save by using Uber. Probably enough to afford a lawyer... later. Or maybe a surgeon. Or a gravedigger.
I get the argument of the taxi drivers, I really do (some of my best friends are taxi drivers! heh). These new brand of self-appointed transporters are not paying any taxes anywhere, nobody knows who they are and what security they provide, they can't be tracked in case they do something bad to their passenger, etc. And there's also the home security rationale: essentially, you order a ride from your home to a restaurant, some unchecked driver turns up who now knows your home is empty for the next couple of hours. Bonanza!
And when you leave a bad review because you find your house ransacked after you get home, next day you've got three big blokes dressed in fancy suits knocking at your door wanting to have a chat with you. Because apparently they've found a way to exploit a vulnerability on the website of the ride-sharing Uber service, the cross-site scripting bug essentially being compromised via theft of cookies, personal details and authentification credentials.
Of course, the more important issue here is if they could work out some way of vetting their drivers (for obvious reasons), that wouldn't be too bad indeed. And it would be nice if they could find a way to address some of the "minor flaws" of presumably the few "bad apples" among their drivers, who've been beating passengers up, kidnapping passengers, running over pedestrians, raping passengers, and performing other "fun activities".
But hey, just think how much money you could save by using Uber. Probably enough to afford a lawyer... later. Or maybe a surgeon. Or a gravedigger.