[greggman]

There are likely more assaults in normal cabs then Uber.

1. You know the driver in uber. It's registered before they pick you up and send to your phone. Not so with a taxi

2. Uber tracks your GPS and the drivers. They know who's in the car (driver and passenger). Not so with Taxi

3. Drivers are rated on uber. A couple of bad ratings and they're out. Not so with taxi.

4. Uber requires no cash. Many taxi drivers don't except cards or will pressure for cash. No cash on you = less reason for assault.

So no, there is no proof that Uber has more assaults than normal taxis. So far there is only proof there are some assaults in uber and no records are kept about taxi assaults so we don't know. Searching for "cab driver assault" though brings up many many hits

[CaptainZapp]

  1. You know the driver in uber. It's registered before they pick you up and send to your phone. Not so with a taxi

You notice that card with a number, usually carrying a photo of the driver, prominently placed in just about every official taxi, just about anywhere on the globe? There's usually also information, prominently posted, on how to file an official complaint if your cabbie does dodgy stuff. In addition you have accurate fare information posted, which doesn't suddenly jump by factor 6 because a company can make more money. (I know their argument and happen to think it's bullshit)

  2. Uber tracks your GPS and the drivers. They know who's in the car (driver and passenger). Not so with Taxi

So that Uber can use this data for sleazy blog posts, or to strong arm journalists that they don't like? This alone is such a gross privacy violation that I will never, ever use this company.

  3. Drivers are rated on uber. A couple of bad ratings and they're out. Not so with taxi.

Taxi drivers are vetted, licensed and insured. Good luck to reclaim potentially hundreds of thousands of Euros for hospital costs from your Uber driver. Because his insurance will sure as hell not pay. The drivers 5 star rating will help you exactly zilch if such a situation occurs.

  4. Uber requires no cash. 

We're taking about using Uber in Europe, which (depending on the country) is far less a credit card based society than the US. In addition the "less reason got assault" argument is spurious, at best. Apart from the fact that this very, very rarely happens in most European cities a potential assailant doesn't know if you carry cash or not.

While I agree that assaults by Uber drivers are rare (even though they are pretty poorly vetted unless it becomes a pr problem) the insurance argument and Uber's callous disregard for the privacy of their customers are deal killers for me.