Judge rules on taxi industry lawsuit: Compete with Uber or die.

[Thoughtful Trolli]

Air and water are pretty fundamentally different - these are situations with massive negative externalities not incurred by those engaging in the commerce. That's just not the case with Uber.

It is all a very intricate web.

For example, there's going to be a lot of unemployed taxi cab drivers, and during their suffering they will start littering garbage everywhere, because fuck the world where the ability to provide for their family was removed by masses demanding a cheaper service.

I'd have intention to invent a machine that could wash the window of every skyscraper in New York in a week if it didn't also accidentally destroy 10,000 related jobs and lives.

[sluggs]

Free markets are not always textbook perfect. In this case the medallions are there to prevent excessive supply crowding the streets, and keeping the worst of the drivers away.

And no i'm not saying the taxi market shouldnt adapt, but the Uber model is just unleashing anarchy. Eventually you will have competiting services that don't bother checking drivers/cars, and only the most needing people are going to be driving around. You think taxis are bad drivers now? Just wait till the marked is unregulated and prices start dropping, so "regular" drivers have to find other jobs and the foreign drivers with zero driving experince start taking the jobs, because they cannot get other jobs.

All medallions have done is create an artificial scarcity that results in high prices and corruption throughout the years. However i do agree that something will need to be done about Uber considering over last year they slashed the pay to people working on the service which will result in less qualified drivers. Better background checks and training would be a good start.

[Dhrizzle]

It reads like you're trying to say it's not anarchy, but your example would still be anarchy.

Miscommunication from me, I was trying to give the impression that yes, it absolutely would be anarchy.

Ebay has grown a lot from the "swap-meet of the internet" to a fairly well controlled selling environment. It's not perfect, but ebay is much safer to purchase through now than it has been before.

Given time to mature and either self-regulate or be regulated Uber could very well turn out like ebay, but I'm not sure enough thought has been given to the Uber model yet.

[Spl4sh3r]

It's not a free market when the government requires company X to follow a bunch of regulations, and tolerates it when company Y breaks those regulations.

Luckily they changed that now with fines and Uberpop is basically dead in my country.

It isn't the same though. They aren't the same type of company. It is like comparing a bar to a grocery store.

[Sunseeker]

Miscommunication from me, I was trying to give the impression that yes, it absolutely would be anarchy.

Given time to mature and either self-regulate or be regulated Uber could very well turn out like ebay, but I'm not sure enough thought has been given to the Uber model yet.

My concern is that
A: people will react too harshly to the service and shut it down.
B: people will promote it too aggressively and it won't be able to even self-regulate.
C: something terrible is going to happen and the concept will be destroyed utterly.

Unfortunately I think we're seeing A in Europe, B in the States and C is really only a matter of time.

[Dhrizzle]

Personally, my ideal situation would be for these regulatory structures for taxis or restaurants to be voluntary - if a restaurant wants the stamp of the government, let them get it, and customers can choose the regulated restaurant if that's what they prefer. I'm pretty laissez-faire about these sorts of things relative to others though.

If restaurants could offer lower prices by not conforming to food-safety regulations they'd likely become very popular, potentially killing any "legitimate" restaurants (or they'd probably all switch sides to make more profits,) but would it be worth risking a public-health crisis that could cost far more for the general public in the long term than the individuals involved would benefit in the short term?

[deadman1]

Heh,

Ever wonder why you need a license to be a barber?

You mean like a drivers LICENSE?

[Jinpachi]

so when will the uber serial killer start striking?

[deadman1]

so when will the uber serial killer start striking?

When will the taxi serial killer start striking?

[Lightwysh]

so when will the uber serial killer start striking?

Just google "Uber Assault". Have fun.

[Dhrizzle]

Medallions are kept to keep the labor supply of drivers low, ,maintaining certain rates for drivers and their companies.

Anyone that doesn't think that the cab industry are being monopolistic dicks here are delusional.

Ideally a regulated taxi industry ensures that vehicles are maintained to a certain standard and drivers are trained to provide the best service possible (see "the Knowledge" in London that ensures taxi drivers know where to go and how to get there, pretty much defunct due to sat-nav) and ensure the safety of their passengers and other road-users and pedestrians.

Realistically (at least in some parts of reality) taxi regulations allow for corruption and profiteering at the expense of decent service.

It seems that for this one, society has chosen the adage "when choosing between two evils, I go for the one I haven't tried before."

[Thoughtful Trolli]

It seems that for this one, society has chosen the adage "when choosing between two evils, I go for the one I haven't tried before."

This is amazing quote Mister.

It actually makes me more optimistic about the situation in this case though, oddly. Weird.

My concern is that
A: people will react too harshly to the service and shut it down.
B: people will promote it too aggressively and it won't be able to even self-regulate.
C: something terrible is going to happen and the concept will be destroyed utterly.

Unfortunately I think we're seeing A in Europe, B in the States and C is really only a matter of time.

I wouldn't be worried about C, C is kind of the American way. It's rotating people on Welfare and Unemployment and through New Jobs so they don't get bored and become evil, as they are too overworked and overstressed trying to keep up with the system to notice they are rats in a joke of a race.

Just another distraction, prolonged over 10-20 years. But that's what life is; An 80 year distraction.

I just think it would be awesome if qualified spouses could do their spouses jobs. Then I could take a day off any time I like and have my wife work in my place, as long as she passed the qualifications. It would give her something to do, and give me a much needed break.

[Daedius]

/yay more unemployed people due to automated services... Capitalism loves this.

[deadman1]

Just google "Uber Assault". Have fun.

"Assault" and "serial killing" aren't the same thing ... I hope I don't have to explain this to you.

[Lightwysh]

"Assault" and "serial killing" aren't the same thing ... I hope I don't have to explain this to you.

Did I say they were? I'm saying there are lots of reported assaults, which could lead to killings. Anytime you have unregulated services where anyone can download an app, fill out a few bits info(potentially fake) and be connected with other random people as a service provider, you are opening up a can of worms that will be nothing but bad.

[Deleted]

So this is the future of "unlicensed" taxis ala Uber. MUCH cheaper fares, you think Uber is cheap, think again. Uber has nothing that the competition can't just copy, there is no innovation or thing that makes them speciel, heck Uber charges a ridiculous 20% fee on rides. Competitors will appear, and they won't focus on ratings or other sentimental things, they are going to focus on the price, that means the market is going to split into factions. People that want a "good" ride with a pleasant driver, and people that just want to pay whatever is cheapest. That means there's gonna have to be more drivers sitting around waiting for customers. More drivers = more cars = more traffic.

I would very much like to see a taxi app that just copied the best of Uber. The knowing where your cab is, the route taken, and price ahead and the whole payment being automated are all nice functions that can easily be intregated in the existing cab model.

[Ripster42]

So this is the future of "unlicensed" taxis ala Uber. MUCH cheaper fares, you think Uber is cheap, think again. Uber has nothing that the competition can't just copy, there is no innovation or thing that makes them speciel, heck Uber charges a ridiculous 20% fee on rides. Competitors will appear, and they won't focus on ratings or other sentimental things, they are going to focus on the price, that means the market is going to split into factions. People that want a "good" ride with a pleasant driver, and people that just want to pay whatever is cheapest. That means there's gonna have to be more drivers sitting around waiting for customers. More drivers = more cars = more traffic.

I would very much like to see a taxi app that just copied the best of Uber. The knowing where your cab is, the route taken, and price ahead and the whole payment being automated are all nice functions that can easily be intregated in the existing cab model.

There's no incentive in the existing cab model to improve service. It's the problem with effective monopolies. They stop caring about their product at all.

[I Push Buttons]

It isn't the same though. They aren't the same type of company. It is like comparing a bar to a grocery store.

Only in your terrible analogy, it would be a bar that sells all the same groceries as the grocery store. With the grocery store needing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a medallion to sell groceries while the bar can sell all of the same groceries without paying for the medallion.

[Ripster42]

Only in your terrible analogy, it would be a bar that sells all the same groceries as the grocery store. With the grocery store needing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a medallion to sell groceries while the bar can sell all of the same groceries without paying for the medallion.

I won't lie. I haven't followed the twistings of this analogy, but are you really trying to defend taxi medallions that no longer serve their intended purpose (quality control) and are just another source of corruption and reason for stagnation?

[I Push Buttons]

I won't lie. I haven't followed the twistings of this analogy, but are you really trying to defend taxi medallions that no longer serve their intended purpose (quality control) and are just another source of corruption and reason for stagnation?

I am not trying to defend anything sir. I just think it is absurd that the government requires taxis, whether a large business with a fleet of taxis or an individual, to pay (very large amounts of money) for the right to drive people around for money... While simultaneously tolerating another business to do the exact same thing without the same premium under the auspices that they aren't a taxi service, they are a "ride share" company.

I think both are full of scam artists, but that is beside the point.