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

[lockedout]

A state judge has slammed the door on a legal challenge by opponents of Uber, clearing the way for the rideshare giant to run traditional taxis off the road.

In a decision unveiled Wednesday, Queens Supreme Court Justice Allan Weiss ruled that for-hire vehicles could use electronic hails to compete with yellow cabs—something they have been doing well enough to threaten the existence of the iconic 80-year-old industry.

If that means yellow-cab medallions worth a collective $10 billion or so just two years ago become worthless, the judge suggested, so be it.

“Any expectation that the medallion would function as a shield against the rapid technological advances of the modern world would not have been reasonable,” he wrote. “In this day and age, even with public utilities, investors must always be wary of new forms of competition arising from technological developments.”

The plaintiffs, led by four Queens credit unions who lent heavily to medallion buyers, plan to appeal.

“In the meantime, however, a catastrophe is unfolding, as an entire industry continues to be illegally destroyed, while elected officials allow it to happen on their watch,” their lawyer Todd Higgins said in a statement that apparently referred to defendants Mayor Bill de Blasio and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “It is a stunning abdication of leadership and responsibility that will haunt New York City for years to come.”

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...th-uber-or-die

They also just made uber legal in Las Vagas.
Do you think it is far to cabs that paid for their medallions?

[Mosotti]

Let's say you come up with a business idea and you invest a lot of money in it. Then suddenly there's another company that offers virtually the same services at arguably better conditions. Is that fair? Well, I'd say it is pretty fair. You need to adapt and face the competition or gtfo. (I'm not a Uber supporter and I wouldn't use it, I'd still prefer a taxi).

[SageKalzi]

As someone who lives in Vegas I'm very glad Uber is here. I don't use taxis or uber but the way the taxi companies are run out here and how the taxi drivers act are despicable and in most cases illegal.

[lockedout]

As someone who lives in Vegas I'm very glad Uber is here. I don't use taxis or uber but the way the taxi companies are run out here and how the taxi drivers act are despicable and in most cases illegal.

You still can't hail an Uber off the street so I guess there is that. I wonder when they will just do away with the medallions altogether?

[Deleted]

And so the race to the bottom begins...

[I Push Buttons]

Do you think it is far to cabs that paid for their medallions?

I don't like taxis, but I agree that this isn't a fair deal for them... The only reason they bought the medallions was because the city told them it was illegal for them to drive people around for money without them.

[Deleted]

I love how Uber still pretends to be a rideshare company, when the vast majority of their users and drivers are using it as an alternative to taxis.

[Independent voter]

So Uber will do okay in the US. The Europeans will shut Uber down over there, at least that's my guess. Taxi drivers seem more organized and powerful in European countries.

What's best for the consumer? Having a choice and different options for a service is always good, IMO.

[Slant]

So Uber will do okay in the US. The Europeans will shut Uber down over there, at least that's my guess. Taxi drivers seem more organized and powerful in European countries.

What's best for the consumer? Having a choice and different options for a service is always good, IMO.

Uber is apparently already active in Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt.

Their "typical" business model as it works in the US, with private folks driving in their private cars, seems to be shut down already and has been ruled as illegal in Germany. Uber does maintain a small professional Taxi fleet with the necessary concessions and permits. Apparently they're focusing on rental cars and other, similar, companies to help them establish themselves and their concept.

[Lightwysh]

My biggest issue with Uber and other "rideshare" services, 99.9% of your personal insurance policies will not cover you if you are operating a rideshare service. So when there is an accident and someone is hurt, whose insurance is fronting the bill. Force ride share drivers to carry a business policy and I'm ok with it.

Most if not all personal auto policies specifically exclude coverage while your vehicle is being used for business or in the course of employment i.e. Rideshare, Pizza Delivery, traditional courier services or even driving coworkers from the office to a meeting.

[Slant]

My biggest issue with Uber and other "rideshare" services, 99.9% of your personal insurance policies will not cover you if you are operating a rideshare service. So when there is an accident and someone is hurt, whose insurance is fronting the bill. Force ride share drivers to carry a business policy and I'm ok with it.

Most if not all personal auto policies specifically exclude coverage while your vehicle is being used for business or in the course of employment i.e. Rideshare, Pizza Delivery, traditional courier services or even driving coworkers from the office to a meeting.

I'd have to look into that, but I'm fairly certain that you cannot actually turn the engine on of an automobile without being forced to have some sort of policy for that situation. Given how strict Germany is about these things, I think at least that wouldn't be a big issue.

It is an important question, however.

[Fencers]

Good. I am so fucking over taxis and their ridiculous costs. I use Uber like 3-4 times a week now and it has literally changed my life.

[Lightwysh]

I'd have to look into that, but I'm fairly certain that you cannot actually turn the engine on of an automobile without being forced to have some sort of policy for that situation. Given how strict Germany is about these things, I think at least that wouldn't be a big issue.

It is an important question, however.

Here in the U.S. this is the case. I've worked auto insurance for 5+ years, in claims and I can tell you it is a problem how many people hop onto the Uber bandwagon and then have an accident and insurance outright denies their claims. Totaled that brand new Camry? Too bad. Your passenger critically injured? That sucks, good luck. When injury claims can reach $100's of thousands of dollars and you don't have coverage, you are gonna get sued.

[Osmeric]

It's well established law in the US that regulated monopolies are not legally entitled to be profitable in the face of competition. Cabs are not monopolies, but the principle is the same.

More generally, taxi medallions are an odious enabler of rent seeking behavior, so this decision is good for the public interest.

- - - Updated - - -

And so the race to the bottom begins...

It's called the free market, and it's a good thing.

[TyrianFC]

Taxis are basically CD stores 20 years ago, trying to shut down the internet because it affects their business. yeah good luck with that...

They let this happen to them by having no foresight.

Do you think it is far to cabs that paid for their medallions?

Who cares? Life isnt fair. Free market doesnt work under the assumption that things should be fair.

[dextersmith]

How can they object? Isn't the US all about free competition? The taxi industry has to get with the times or get left behind.

[Slant]

Here in the U.S. this is the case. I've worked auto insurance for 5+ years, in claims and I can tell you it is a problem how many people hop onto the Uber bandwagon and then have an accident and insurance outright denies their claims. Totaled that brand new Camry? Too bad. Your passenger critically injured? That sucks, good luck. When injury claims can reach $100's of thousands of dollars and you don't have coverage, you are gonna get sued.

The German gouvernment prefers to fine you already for not having an insurance. Those fines can be pretty hefty, so most people will run through lives with all mandatory insurances that they're told to have. This covers pretty much 90% of your life's typical situations. Since everyone has those, they're relatively cheap, too. A legal liability insurance doesn't have to be more than a few bucks every month. An example would be a typical insurance for legal liabilities costing 65 Euros a year covering damages of up to 50 million Euros. If I'm not mistaken, if you're in a situation where your typical car insurance says "Um, not our problem", this is the insurance that would kick in as a safety, they'd have to cover it.

[Dhrizzle]

As always I let comedy websites dictate my opinions on things that don't directly affect me.

[Lightwysh]

The German gouvernment prefers to fine you already for not having an insurance. Those fines can be pretty hefty, so most people will run through lives with all mandatory insurances that they're told to have. This covers pretty much 90% of your life's typical situations. Since everyone has those, they're relatively cheap, too. A legal liability insurance doesn't have to be more than a few bucks every month. An example would be a typical insurance for legal liabilities costing 65 Euros a year covering damages of up to 50 million Euros. If I'm not mistaken, if you're in a situation where your typical car insurance says "Um, not our problem", this is the insurance that would kick in as a safety, they'd have to cover it.

So just a general liability policy? I'm not aware of anything like that here. We have umbrella policies but usually you have to have a home or auto policy with specific limits prior to the umbrella policy kicking in. And generally the umbrella policy is subject to same exclusions as the primary policies.

If they can regulate the rideshare like they have the commercial taxi, I'm all for it. Competition is good. As it stands they aren't regulated enough to be safe for anyone. You have iffy background checks, spotty if any insurances, and driver maintained vehicles which could be disastrous.

[Deleted]

It's called the free market, and it's a good thing.

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.