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> So Taxi services have gone through these stages ... Defacto de-regulation (via effective non-enforcement) Could you talk a bit more about that part? I'm glad

> So Taxi services have gone through these stages ... Defacto de-regulation (via effective non-enforcement) Could you talk a bit more about that part? I'm glad that Uber exists, but I don't understand how they got around the "government enforced monopoly" you mentioned. Why didn't the local taxi companies go to their city government and get Uber shut down as soon as Uber starting operating in their city? Wouldn't the city government be far more receptive to the local taxi company than to an upstart 1000 miles away? Did Uber spend a fortune to fight this city by city in court? If someone told me Uber's business plan 13 years ago, I would have said it'd be shut down instantly by the local regulators.

fellowniusmonk 4y ago
That's a whole long post and what approach was taken varied from place to place, google "uber greyball" to see how uber prevented enforcement attempts... but really it came down to mass civil disobedience by drivers and riders to not comply with local taxi laws that brought about political change. For example, in some cities like Austin, TX when Lyft first came to town (at effectively the same time as Uber) their interface showed the fare as technically an optional donation and Lyft guaranteed the driver reimbursement. Austin was one of the few places in the US that for a short period successfully stopped use of lyft and uber but the city was over ruled by the state.