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I love how people are now all of a sudden defending the "Taxi regulations" as if an artifical monopoly that was serving no one's best interests except for the m

I love how people are now all of a sudden defending the "Taxi regulations" as if an artifical monopoly that was serving no one's best interests except for the monopoly was somehow a great thing. It's a lazy argument, especially for HN where old industries with arcane rules are meant to be broken. I guess you don't remember how shitty taxis were pre-Uber, when calling a cab 1 hour before you needed it was required, and you wouldn't know if they would actually come or not. And after waiting 1 hr they didn't come, you would be shit out of luck. Meanwhile, in every city where Uber pops up transportation gets better. Taxi monopolistic laws were meant to be disrupted, and I'm glad Uber has done it.

Kiro 9y ago
I agree but the Uber hate on HN is so strong that no-one will admit the positive impact they've actually had. Would love to see some real counter-arguments though.
- boomboomsubban 9y ago
  The positive impact was happening without Uber. There had been a variety of ride sharing programs for several year before Uber started, and the rise of smart phones would soon allow for easy charging people for the service. Uber than devoured the market by using rich guy connections to raise money, and ignoring regulations. And that's what people hate.
rock_hard 9y ago
I don't know why you got flagged...your post is spot on!
- majewsky 9y ago
  He didn't get flagged, he got downvoted.
seanmcdirmid 9y ago
Anti-Uber has never meant pro Taxi. Those two positions are mostly unrelated.
rovek 9y ago
I went to a wedding in the countryside last year (5 miles from a decent town, hardly remote) and was reminded of how things still are outside cities. I literally could not get a taxi from the local firms and had to wait for a guest driving my way to leave naturally. Though Uber etc. still haven't completely solved the attitude problem of drivers who seem to feel they're doing you a favour rather than providing a service.
jameskegel 9y ago
Why is this comment being grayed? Despite the language, this is a legitimate rebuttal. > I love how people are now all of a sudden defending the "Taxi regulations" as if an artifical monopoly that was serving no one's best interests except for the monopoly was somehow a great thing. Conjecture, disregarding. > It's a lazy argument, especially for HN where old industries with arcane rules are meant to be broken. I cannot refute this. > calling a cab 1 hour before you needed it was required, and you wouldn't know if they would actually come or not This is still very true. > after waiting 1 hr they didn't come, you would be out of luck. This is true. > in every city where Uber pops up transportation gets better. This is the only thing I could come close to refuting, but it'd be an argument built wholly on anecdotal evidence. We should not be so easily provoked.
- blowski 9y ago
  The comment seems to be suggesting there are only two possible positions - pro-taxi or pro-Uber. Furthermore, it suggest that HN has taken an aggregate position. In reality, I can be both pro-taxi and pro-Uber, or vice versa. Furthermore there are plenty of Uber defenders as well as attackers here on HN, so suggesting people are "all of a sudden defending taxis" seems a stretch. I agree that the taxi industry had and continues to have many problems, but I don't agree with much of Uber's behaviour either.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
DanBC 9y ago
> you don't remember how shitty taxis were pre-Uber I don't remember that, because I live in a country that doesn't have awful taxis, and where Uber has little to offer except dubious insurance status.
- pfarnsworth 9y ago
  You probably never use taxis in Vancouver then and/or you don't understand the value proposition that Uber brings. There are tens of thousands of people in SF alone that now earn money that previously didn't, and customers that have a much better transportation option that they are willing to pay for. https://www.bcbusiness.ca/vancouver-has-fewer-taxis-than-any-other-canadian-city https://www.bcbusiness.ca/vancouver-has-fewer-taxis-than-any...
monksy 9y ago
I think the Uber hate comes from their business practices, and people are reaching to jump on the bandwagon to hate uber at all cost. I think it's been a good service compared with taxis. But we're in this weird double standard, where we tolerate them breaking some rules but ignoring others. (Tolerating the taxi regulations, but violating basic decency [safety, passenger rights, etc])
carapace 9y ago
The problem with Uber isn't that they provide a decent "cab" service, it is that, collectively, they are amoral douche-bags.

Kiro 9y ago

I agree but the Uber hate on HN is so strong that no-one will admit the positive impact they've actually had. Would love to see some real counter-arguments though.

boomboomsubban 9y ago
The positive impact was happening without Uber. There had been a variety of ride sharing programs for several year before Uber started, and the rise of smart phones would soon allow for easy charging people for the service. Uber than devoured the market by using rich guy connections to raise money, and ignoring regulations. And that's what people hate.

rock_hard 9y ago

I don't know why you got flagged...your post is spot on!

majewsky 9y ago
He didn't get flagged, he got downvoted.

seanmcdirmid 9y ago

Anti-Uber has never meant pro Taxi. Those two positions are mostly unrelated.

rovek 9y ago

I went to a wedding in the countryside last year (5 miles from a decent town, hardly remote) and was reminded of how things still are outside cities. I literally could not get a taxi from the local firms and had to wait for a guest driving my way to leave naturally. Though Uber etc. still haven't completely solved the attitude problem of drivers who seem to feel they're doing you a favour rather than providing a service.

jameskegel 9y ago

Why is this comment being grayed? Despite the language, this is a legitimate rebuttal. > I love how people are now all of a sudden defending the "Taxi regulations" as if an artifical monopoly that was serving no one's best interests except for the monopoly was somehow a great thing. Conjecture, disregarding. > It's a lazy argument, especially for HN where old industries with arcane rules are meant to be broken. I cannot refute this. > calling a cab 1 hour before you needed it was required, and you wouldn't know if they would actually come or not This is still very true. > after waiting 1 hr they didn't come, you would be out of luck. This is true. > in every city where Uber pops up transportation gets better. This is the only thing I could come close to refuting, but it'd be an argument built wholly on anecdotal evidence. We should not be so easily provoked.

blowski 9y ago
The comment seems to be suggesting there are only two possible positions - pro-taxi or pro-Uber. Furthermore, it suggest that HN has taken an aggregate position. In reality, I can be both pro-taxi and pro-Uber, or vice versa. Furthermore there are plenty of Uber defenders as well as attackers here on HN, so suggesting people are "all of a sudden defending taxis" seems a stretch. I agree that the taxi industry had and continues to have many problems, but I don't agree with much of Uber's behaviour either.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

DanBC 9y ago

> you don't remember how shitty taxis were pre-Uber I don't remember that, because I live in a country that doesn't have awful taxis, and where Uber has little to offer except dubious insurance status.

pfarnsworth 9y ago
You probably never use taxis in Vancouver then and/or you don't understand the value proposition that Uber brings. There are tens of thousands of people in SF alone that now earn money that previously didn't, and customers that have a much better transportation option that they are willing to pay for. https://www.bcbusiness.ca/vancouver-has-fewer-taxis-than-any-other-canadian-city https://www.bcbusiness.ca/vancouver-has-fewer-taxis-than-any...

monksy 9y ago

I think the Uber hate comes from their business practices, and people are reaching to jump on the bandwagon to hate uber at all cost. I think it's been a good service compared with taxis. But we're in this weird double standard, where we tolerate them breaking some rules but ignoring others. (Tolerating the taxi regulations, but violating basic decency [safety, passenger rights, etc])

carapace 9y ago

The problem with Uber isn't that they provide a decent "cab" service, it is that, collectively, they are amoral douche-bags.