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Under the old model, taxi riders were/are suffering, and taxi drivers want to keep getting their monopoly rent. "Taxi drivers are suffering" actually means "th

Under the old model, taxi riders were/are suffering, and taxi drivers want to keep getting their monopoly rent. "Taxi drivers are suffering" actually means "they cannot fleece their customers like they used to". This is a zero sum game - taxi drivers take money from taxi riders, so any change will be met with opposition. The difference is, taxi drivers are better organized and have PR people to tell us about their "suffering", while millions of taxi riders quietly enjoy better service and reasonable prices.

deanCommie 10y ago
Look, I hate cabs too. I hate having to tell the driver where to drop me off because they never use GPS. I hate feeling like a lowlife for wanting to pay by credit card because I never have cash. And I hate how expensive cabs are. But let's not forget that most taxi drivers are themselves far from well off. It is a working class gig, with a heavy representation from new immigrants. It's long hours, it's physically draining (software developers get to rebel against sitting in front of computers in favour of standing desks, yet what about drivers), and most people do NOT get rich doing it. It's still an industry that's sick with corruption that has depended on anti-competitive practices and should be destroyed and rebuilt for the betterment of society. But most taxi DRIVERS have few if any options in the upcoming world.
- na85 10y ago
  So we should prop up the robber barons running the shitty industry just to save the little guys who don't want to do something else?
  - guptaneil 10y ago
    I'm against propping up a dying industry by taxing the disrupters because it sets a terrible precedent. (Will Tesla be taxed to prop up oil companies in 10 years?) But to say taxi drivers don't want to do something else is unfair. Many drivers sunk all of their savings into buying a taxi medallion, assuming it would hold its value, and now live day to day on their earnings. Uber/Lyft have destroyed the value of the medallion, essentially wiping out the "little guy's" investment over night. Yes, life's unfair but as a compassionate society, can we do something to help them? I'm more ok with the taxi businesses themselves going out of business for failing to innovate and getting themselves disrupted. That's on them. However, it does leave another problem... Taxi companies are heavily regulated for a reason. For example, they are required to offer services for disabled people at no extra charge. As far as I know, Uber/Lyft are under no such obligation and do nothing to accommodate the disabled. When taxi companies go away, what happens to that entire group of people? One solution might be to classify ride-hailing apps as taxi companies as well and apply the same regulations. This also allows taxi companies to compete on a level playing field.
- kofejnik 10y ago
  Last year in Athens I was forced to pay 50 EUR for a 20 minute ride to the airport (officially mandated price), while average monthly salary there is ~700 eur. No way an honest working class man would charge 1/14 of a monthly salary for a 20-minute job, this is a racket, pure and simple.
- kofejnik 10y ago
  Also, my girlfriend is an honest hardworking person, who instead of overcrowded public transit can enjoy faster safer transportation daily, thanks to Uber. Why do you want to deny her this basic necessity?

deanCommie 10y ago

Look, I hate cabs too. I hate having to tell the driver where to drop me off because they never use GPS. I hate feeling like a lowlife for wanting to pay by credit card because I never have cash. And I hate how expensive cabs are. But let's not forget that most taxi drivers are themselves far from well off. It is a working class gig, with a heavy representation from new immigrants. It's long hours, it's physically draining (software developers get to rebel against sitting in front of computers in favour of standing desks, yet what about drivers), and most people do NOT get rich doing it. It's still an industry that's sick with corruption that has depended on anti-competitive practices and should be destroyed and rebuilt for the betterment of society. But most taxi DRIVERS have few if any options in the upcoming world.

na85 10y ago
So we should prop up the robber barons running the shitty industry just to save the little guys who don't want to do something else?
- guptaneil 10y ago
  I'm against propping up a dying industry by taxing the disrupters because it sets a terrible precedent. (Will Tesla be taxed to prop up oil companies in 10 years?) But to say taxi drivers don't want to do something else is unfair. Many drivers sunk all of their savings into buying a taxi medallion, assuming it would hold its value, and now live day to day on their earnings. Uber/Lyft have destroyed the value of the medallion, essentially wiping out the "little guy's" investment over night. Yes, life's unfair but as a compassionate society, can we do something to help them? I'm more ok with the taxi businesses themselves going out of business for failing to innovate and getting themselves disrupted. That's on them. However, it does leave another problem... Taxi companies are heavily regulated for a reason. For example, they are required to offer services for disabled people at no extra charge. As far as I know, Uber/Lyft are under no such obligation and do nothing to accommodate the disabled. When taxi companies go away, what happens to that entire group of people? One solution might be to classify ride-hailing apps as taxi companies as well and apply the same regulations. This also allows taxi companies to compete on a level playing field.
kofejnik 10y ago
Last year in Athens I was forced to pay 50 EUR for a 20 minute ride to the airport (officially mandated price), while average monthly salary there is ~700 eur. No way an honest working class man would charge 1/14 of a monthly salary for a 20-minute job, this is a racket, pure and simple.
kofejnik 10y ago
Also, my girlfriend is an honest hardworking person, who instead of overcrowded public transit can enjoy faster safer transportation daily, thanks to Uber. Why do you want to deny her this basic necessity?