Uber alles

Earlier this week I spent a day at Leeds University working on a leadership project with a group of health professionals. They had no parking spaces available so I thought I would get a taxi there and back. 

I'm not the biggest fan of the private hire companies in Leeds. Of course it is not possible to generalise, but the cars tend not to be great, there is little room in the back, the drivers are sometimes not the friendliest and sometimes you worry about how they are driving. Being used to London cabs they really don't cut the mustard.

So. when I heard that Uber, the disruptive challenger to the traditional taxi business, had just set up in Leeds so I thought I would give them a try. Impressed by the images of smart black sedans I have seen plastered over the Internet I thought this would be just the way to arrive in style.

I downloaded the Uber app onto my iPhone and filled in my details. It took a couple of minutes, no more. 

The app locates you (in fact it found the house next-door) and then tells you what cars are available nearby. For around 20 minutes from 9am onwards there were no cars available and I thought I would have to call for a mini cab. However, trying one more time a car was indeed available and was shown to be 10 minutes away. I watched on the app as the car got closer, seeing its position at every stage. I also knew that my driver was called Parvez, what the registration of the car was and that somewhat disappointingly he was driving a Mazda 3. 

Nonetheless, the car was clean if not a bit small to be sat in the back of. Pervez asked me where I was going. I thought this was strange as presumably he already knew. Anyway, I told him and we then discussed the best way to get there. Again, I thought the elaborate Uber software would have told him this. No matter.

The Mazda 3 looked like any private hire car except it said Uber on the side. The main difference was that there was no meter and no radio, instead just an iPhone on the dashboard which appeared to look after everything. 

My driver was very chatty and answered all of my questions great detail. In Leeds there are 150 drivers working for Uber. This pales into insignificance compared to London where he claimed there are now 9,000. Many thousands moved from one private hire company. He says drivers are paid £10 per hour if they don't have work and this makes a huge difference to them. He also talked of London drivers being offer £1000 to go back to their original employer. 

Their deal is they give 20% over to Uber and they are paid weekly, but they have to take more then £10 in an hour to be liable for the commission. This differs from the usual model of paying a fixed rent to the operator and getting cash directly from customers on an ongoing basis. 

True to their word I got in, I got out, no cash changed hands and my Paypal account was charged for the journey. I got an e-mail showing me a map of my journey, confirming the cost in terms of distance and time and giving me the opportunity to rate the driver. Apparently the drivers also have the opportunity to rate passengers. David Mellor watch out! 

I was struck by the amazing simplicity of using this system and whilst it looked and felt like a regular minicab the fact I didn't have to ring anyone was great - too used to be lied to or being told there are no cars for an hour - the fact it was cashless was also great and there was no need to ask for a receipt as one came by e-mail. I think the price was very comparable to what I would have paid anywhere else. 

My journey back was equally simple. The car was only two minutes away when I requested it this time but the GPS was not 100% accurate and he went to the wrong place. I could see the car on my screen not moving for several minutes. Eventually he texted me and we found each other. This time I got Ansaar in his little Seat. Ansaar was a seasoned taxi driver of a number of years who had signed up with Uber three hours before the launch. He had both front seats pushed right back so he could recline in comfort whilst his passengers were squashed in the back listening to his hard-core hip hop. The car was spotlessly clean but just too small.

Again the process was simple and flawless. Interesting the fare back cost about 10% more than the fare going. Possibly traffic was heavier. 

I can see now how this business is going to completely overturn the taxi industry and that it will have ripples way beyond this too. Today, whilst writing, there have been no cars available each time I have looked. But as and where there are more cars, it means that you really could manage without a car if you wanted to, door to door effortlessly. And I think there are other possibilities like integrating with online shopping so you could click to collect our goods, but Uber would collect them and they could be with you within an hour or so. Presumably this is why the business is worth $18 billion. 

But, in Leeds we have only got Uber X, basically small cars so the service is cheap. This is not really what I want but probably serves the student areas well where I understand they are very busy. I'm told 100 drivers have moved over from just one local company to Uber in this part of the City. I would like the black sedans - hopefully in the near future. 

There are big issues around taxi drivers and the minimum wage, which they don't always get. Paying £10 per hour for downtime is a great thing but the drivers remain self employed and I can't see this being sustainable beyond the launch phase where Uber clearly is throwing money at the service. There has been no visible advertising - one driver said he had been very busy, the other had been doing nothing all day. 

It is clearly early days but I think this changes things for the better. Parvez told me that all the drivers would have to have Mercedes and BMWs within one year and this could be a welcome improvement. But just for the sheer simplicity of getting a cab from A to B I will certainly be using Uber again.

Finally I can offer each of my readers a gift. If I recommend the service to a friend they will get £10 off their first journey. So those of you who want £10 for now't (as we say in Yorkshire), download the app and use this promo code: jonathans1577 

Bon voyage!

A tale of two Eds.

Photograph: Jonathan Straight

Recently I attended the Inclusive Prosperity Conference at the Science Museum in London. The invite came from The Labour Party and the conference was presented by Policy Network, a think tank with an obvious lean to the left.


I'm not a Labour supporter - at the moment I don't think I'm actually a supporter of anyone - but I was interested in the parts of the conference about fairness in business. One thing I passionately believe in is that business should be a force for good in society and I was keen to hear what was being proposed.

The venue was a interesting choice. I must have walked two miles to the pre-conference refreshments. Water was strangely kept hidden under the table - God only knows what else was secreted under there - and we ate and drank in almost complete darkness. Soon we were ushered in. It struck me that no one had asked who I was or even if I was registered to attend. No one checked that I had left my weapons at home. Very trusting the opposition party!


In we went. And there he was. Ed Balls. I like Ed Balls although his politics scare me a little ... well a lot actually. Ed is the only Leeds MP who replies to invitations, generally to decline, but at least he replies. Whenever I see Ed Balls I still hear Eamon Holmes' voice saying those classic words once uttered on Sky News, "Ed Balls, a man who sometimes talks what his name says."


Ed made no grand entrance, he just appeared and introduced Lord David Sainsbury. Sainsbury stood looking down and read from a script. Industry knows nothing about the Labour Party, he claimed. Possibly true, but then perhaps the Labour Party known nothing about industry either. There was a lot of rambling about the lack of infrastructure and a need to move to the supply of higher value goods (but one has to assume that these goods will not find their way into his supermarkets). He said that entrepreneurs should be "applauded and richly rewarded." We should be considered heroes, not like the "exploiting investors" who were "rigging the market". Wow.  


Having set the tone, Ed returned to introduce the first of several panels to present that day. Maggie Philbin, yes her off the Multi Coloured Swap Shop, her who used to be married to Cheggers and now telling us that eleven million people can't send an email. Probably around the same number who can't read. Balls stood to the side looking on, his left hand deep in his pocket. Yes, you know what I was thinking...


We then had Lord Adonis tell us that the Science Museum had been built in 1857 with the profits from the Great Exhibition, "so we can do it!" he quipped. But that was more than 150 years ago and certainly wasn't under a Labour government, now was it?


The debate continued. We need more maths and science teachers, enterprise and employment directors in schools, more apprenticeships, more universities, more innovation centres. And all of this would be achieved by a "strong collaborative effort".  Quite a shopping list, but what exactly is the "collaborative" bit all about? Who is going to pay for all of this? Well, you and me of course. By "collaborating".


Balls then introduced what he called the "Highlight of the Day" and we hadn't even had lunch yet. It was Labour leader Ed Milliband. He did make an entrance, at least from the front row where he was sitting. Bless him, he looked so young, so earnest, a bit like he was making his Barmitzvah speech. He had been to an air conditioning factory in Leeds which had burned down, the irony completely lost on him. He could have done us all a favour perhaps and brought some air conditioning back with him - it was a hot day. 

So, here it came. There was a crisis of trust, there was a cost of living crisis, there were deep challenges, the financial crisis had exposed problems and the solutions were not going to come from the recovery alone. No, we had to create highly skilled, high paying jobs. We had to reform government and the market. We had to win the "race to the top". 

Still with me? Here is some more detail. 

The 50% who currently do not go into higher education will have that education. Everyone will study English and Maths to age 18 and employers will decide how the money (what money?) is spent.

Budgets will be decentralized with £30 billion moved to the regions. (Hang on that is less than 5% of spending ...)

Short termism will be outlawed with the abolition of quarterly reporting and a change (unspecified) to the rules on takeovers. A Labour Government would be pro-competition, would stay in the EU and would be pro immigration - but not where this would lead to a race to the bottom for wages. (No need, they did that last time).

He spoke with confidence and conviction. He walked the walk, he talked the talk. But he never said how he would pay for any of this, yet alone all of it. This was playing on my mind thoughout.

He then took questions confidently and adeptly from the audience but studiously ignored me despite the fact I was sitting directly in front of him. Probably he could smell an infiltrator and left well alone. He claimed that he wanted questions from business owners and entrepreneurs but what he got was questions from people running charities; pressure groups; advisory groups; representative organisations of one kind or another - all trying to push their unique outlook on the world onto the aspiring Prime Minister.

Surprisingly, no one asked how this was going to be paid for. Or maybe this was not so surprising as perhaps it did not need to be discussed. I was in the company of the political left, money no object, especially when it is someone else's money. Just a knowing wink and a tap in the side of the nose. Nothing further needed to be said.

They almost pulled it off, they almost had us all fooled. Then up stepped Lord Liddle, the Chair of Policy Network. (You know what side of the political divide you are on when people start using pieces of furniture for their title). He patiently informed us that if what we were looking for as business  leaders was government off our back and lower taxes then we would not be very interested in what Mr Milliband had to say. 

So there it was, the cat out of the bag. The clear implication being that voting for Mr M will mean government all over our backs and higher taxes all round. 

Same old, same old.

Who's a glasshole?

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of receiving an invitation from His Royal Highness Prince Andrew to attend an event at St Jame's Palace where a number of start-ups would be presenting their stories. Probably short of a bob or too, he used his Mother’s franking machine. Nice to have a Buck House postmark though. 

The venue was typically lavish and did not disappoint - they even had red carpet in the toilets. The great and the good were all there and the event was very busy and well attended.

In strolled Eze Vidra, Head of Google Entrepreneurs. He was wearing a strange pair of glasses. I generally notice glasses as they are one of my passions - and these were pretty unusual. As he got closer I could tell that they were in fact a pair (if indeed that is the right word) of the new Google Glass. Eze was busy and we did not get the chance to speak but I noticed that a few other people were also wearing these strange frames.

Later that evening I found myself face to face with a group of gentlemen from a start up, I think it was called OK Yah, but they didn't have cards. Apparently they develop apps for the Google Glass and one of them was wearing some himself. 

I have to say that it was a most unusual feeling being confronted by these all-seeing spectacles, I felt slightly violated. "Do I need to tell you who I am," I said, "Or do you already know?" 

"They are switched off."came the reply.

"Would I be able to tell of they were switched on?" I asked. He pressed a button on the side of the glasses resulting in a ghostly blue flicker.  I don't know what he saw but he switched them off again pretty quickly.

I mentioned this new accessory to another Google person I bumped into. I wondered if they were planning some sort of retro fit as I would struggle with just one frame given my obsessive spectacle habit. It seems they might be. "Eze doesn't like wearing them," she said. "He's worried they make him look like a glasshole!” 

I’m taking bets on how long it is before this ends up in the Oxford Dictionary.

Munich

OMG, is it really 10 months since my last post? Lots of things are happening with the impending sale of Straight plc and so I am going to make a real effort to write a bit more often. Here are some slightly tongue in cheek thoughts about my recent visit to Germany.

Arriving in Munich a few days ago for the IFAT environmental exhibition I was initially very impressed. Less than 5 minutes after the wheels of the plane hit the tarmac, I was in a cab on my way to the exhibition centre. Try that at Leeds Bradford - impossible! About half an hour later it was obvious why the Bavarians are so keen to have your company in such a hurry. It means they can begin to take your money that little bit sooner.

My taxi ride cost 74 Euros. I reminded the driver that the fare was supposed to be 59 Euros as advised on the IFAT website. "Ach!" he said. "You should have told me when you got in. In any case then I would have to take you the longer way round and that would have taken an hour". (Actually the website says it is 35 minutes but I was not in the mood for an argument).

Having been relieved of another 4 Euros to deposit my coat and bag I went round the exhibition, trying to avoid tripping over the overflowing bins full of rubbish.

Thirsty work and at 3.50 Euro for a bottle of water, expensive work too. It was especially impressive to find a vegetarian falafel sandwich for sale. I recall one earlier year the salad without tuna cost more that the salad with it but this was a refreshing find at just 5.50. Unfortunately, they forgot to cook the falafel but then they never really understood vegetarians in wurst country.

My hotel room in town at 425 Euros looked expensive. This did not include breakfast which I opted out of at a further 39 Euros. On checking in I was led to my room by the young lady at the desk. She then asked if I would like her to tell me about the room. I replied that as she had taken the trouble to come up five stories with me then perhaps she should. "So, here is the bed, here is the wardrobe..." she chirped. German humour I suppose.

After a brief rest I flicked through the booklet on the desk only to find that I had a choice of no less than three types of bedding, a comforter, a sleeping plank (whatever that is), a wake up light, a living colour ambience light (again, whatever that is) or one of six different pillows. As I read further my 425 Euro rate was looking more and more bargainsome. An air purifier, a salt water spray for allergies, various paraphernalia for young children including baby phone and rattle, bath toys and a cuddly toy called "Maxl" then onto the dog pillow, dog bowl and some glowshine spray. I think this last item was for a dog but not 100% sure.

Also on the list was aftershave. What a great idea as having travelled with only hand luggage I didn't take any with me. I called housekeeping but somehow got the concierge. He was completely floored by my request and had to call me back several minutes later once he had composed himself. Advising me that they didn't have any he offered to go out and buy a bottle of the brand of my choice. Given I was leaving the room to go out a few minutes later I declined his kind offer.

Returning after around three hours I found a bottle of aftershave balm on my dressing table. It had been made especially for the hotel. I imagine they must have crates of it stashed somewhere. I tried a little. It was vile. It was fahrschtunken. Maybe the concierge was trying to do me a favour.

Most amazing thing of all - they didn't try to charge me for it!