4 ms·

Yet mostly still unregulated. I cant get over all the bad stuff they did to get where they are now. I am not defending taxi drivers (it seems that ANYONE agains

by funkyy 11y ago

Yet mostly still unregulated. I cant get over all the bad stuff they did to get where they are now. I am not defending taxi drivers (it seems that ANYONE against Uber business model = taxi supporter - at least according to majority of A/B society) but Uber is what corporations shouldn't be - breaking laws, throwing money to shut people and lobbying every politician they can. While I understand love by people that use it to make money or communicate, their whole model is just wrong and example of how corporation shouldn't be imo.

blfr 11y ago
It's so easy to never deal with Uber if you don't want to that I don't see the point of regulation.
- Lawtonfogle 11y ago
  The regulations often exist because of externalities to transactions. You don't directly have to deal with Uber, but you will still be impacted by their operations if they are in the same city.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  Because Uber pushes out transportation providers who do follow the rules. Hence, regulation required.
  - blfr 11y ago
    This is an argument for deregulation, not regulation. Why bother with regulation in a highly competitive market?
    - gnrme 11y ago
      Regulation protects customers and workers. It ensure travellers don't get over charged compared to other forms of public transport, it makes sure the driver isn't a criminal, it ensures the vehicle is within certain standards, it prevents a free-for-all that would push the driver's income below reasonable levels. I like the libertarian/wild west mindset of the internet. It doesn't however lend itself to integrated public transport systems - of which, private hire taxis are a part. Plus, it is replacing local businesses with a multinational that will probably send its profits to an island (like lots of other technology companies), rather than contributing to local economies. I think it is the next Groupon though, so at some point it may pop.
    - ethanbond 11y ago
      Taxis pre-regulation were highly competitive. Each driver did his best to cut costs and raise revenue like: break traffic laws, not pay for insurance, not service their cars, not clean their cars, etc. And since hailing a cab doesn't really give a lot of consumer choice besides what cabbie happens to be driving by at the moment, "competition" is loosely applied at best. Pre-regulation, this would mean chances were fair that you'd enter a cab driven by a verbally abusive asshole who can't drive well, blows smoke into your face at a 15 second interval, doesn't know the city, and has basically no regard for human life or decency. At least according to Time magazine in 1976: Modern Living: Call Me a Taxi, You Yellow Cab!
      - tlrobinson 11y ago
        And now the internet and mobile apps has changed all that. Now consumers can pick the best service and simply download a different app, and the services themselves can weed out bad drivers by looking at their ratings.
        toomuchtodo 11y ago
        That's an extremely naive point of view about something so critical as transportation infrastructure.
        tlrobinson 11y ago
        Seems to be working pretty well so far, especially compared to the highly regulated taxi industry. "a verbally abusive asshole who can't drive well, blows smoke into your face at a 15 second interval, doesn't know the city, and has basically no regard for human life or decency" sounds a lot more like taxi drivers than Uber drivers (with the exception of "doesn't know the city", fortunately we have other mobile apps for that too!)
        toomuchtodo 11y ago
        Unless you're disabled, which is part of regulations in place for taxi companies (that Uber and Lyft ignore): http://fortune.com/2015/05/22/uber-lyft-disabled/ http://fortune.com/2015/05/22/uber-lyft-disabled/ http://www.wired.com/2015/08/uber-disability/ http://www.wired.com/2015/08/uber-disability/ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/05/21/uber-disability-laws-don-t-apply-to-us.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/05/21/uber-disabi... http://time.com/3895021/why-the-disabled-are-suing-uber-and-lyft/ http://time.com/3895021/why-the-disabled-are-suing-uber-and-...

by funkyy 11y ago

blfr 11y ago

It's so easy to never deal with Uber if you don't want to that I don't see the point of regulation.

Lawtonfogle 11y ago
The regulations often exist because of externalities to transactions. You don't directly have to deal with Uber, but you will still be impacted by their operations if they are in the same city.
toomuchtodo 11y ago
Because Uber pushes out transportation providers who do follow the rules. Hence, regulation required.
- blfr 11y ago
  This is an argument for deregulation, not regulation. Why bother with regulation in a highly competitive market?
  - gnrme 11y ago
    Regulation protects customers and workers. It ensure travellers don't get over charged compared to other forms of public transport, it makes sure the driver isn't a criminal, it ensures the vehicle is within certain standards, it prevents a free-for-all that would push the driver's income below reasonable levels. I like the libertarian/wild west mindset of the internet. It doesn't however lend itself to integrated public transport systems - of which, private hire taxis are a part. Plus, it is replacing local businesses with a multinational that will probably send its profits to an island (like lots of other technology companies), rather than contributing to local economies. I think it is the next Groupon though, so at some point it may pop.
  - ethanbond 11y ago
    Taxis pre-regulation were highly competitive. Each driver did his best to cut costs and raise revenue like: break traffic laws, not pay for insurance, not service their cars, not clean their cars, etc. And since hailing a cab doesn't really give a lot of consumer choice besides what cabbie happens to be driving by at the moment, "competition" is loosely applied at best. Pre-regulation, this would mean chances were fair that you'd enter a cab driven by a verbally abusive asshole who can't drive well, blows smoke into your face at a 15 second interval, doesn't know the city, and has basically no regard for human life or decency. At least according to Time magazine in 1976: Modern Living: Call Me a Taxi, You Yellow Cab!
    - tlrobinson 11y ago
      And now the internet and mobile apps has changed all that. Now consumers can pick the best service and simply download a different app, and the services themselves can weed out bad drivers by looking at their ratings.
      - toomuchtodo 11y ago
        That's an extremely naive point of view about something so critical as transportation infrastructure.
        tlrobinson 11y ago
        Seems to be working pretty well so far, especially compared to the highly regulated taxi industry. "a verbally abusive asshole who can't drive well, blows smoke into your face at a 15 second interval, doesn't know the city, and has basically no regard for human life or decency" sounds a lot more like taxi drivers than Uber drivers (with the exception of "doesn't know the city", fortunately we have other mobile apps for that too!)
        toomuchtodo 11y ago
        Unless you're disabled, which is part of regulations in place for taxi companies (that Uber and Lyft ignore): http://fortune.com/2015/05/22/uber-lyft-disabled/ http://fortune.com/2015/05/22/uber-lyft-disabled/ http://www.wired.com/2015/08/uber-disability/ http://www.wired.com/2015/08/uber-disability/ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/05/21/uber-disability-laws-don-t-apply-to-us.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/05/21/uber-disabi... http://time.com/3895021/why-the-disabled-are-suing-uber-and-lyft/ http://time.com/3895021/why-the-disabled-are-suing-uber-and-...