5 ms·

On one hand the taxi monopoly is certainly something which has to be reconsidered, on the other hand I'm not sure UberX screening and insurance is sufficient.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
adampassword 12y ago
Agree
smsm42 12y ago
Are you sure taxi screening and insurance is sufficient? When was the last time you checked how taxi drivers are screened?
- wpietri 12y ago
  One of the things I like about taxi drivers is that they are accountable. If I see one behaving badly, I call up the city taxi commission and let 'em know. If the commission decides they shouldn't be driving a taxi, they will no longer be driving a taxi at all in this town. Good luck doing that with some rando driving for Uber, though. For similar reasons, I'm also pretty sure the insurance situation is solid. In direct contrast to Uber, where they actively disclaim any responsibility for their cars and drivers. There are a lot of problems with the taxi industry. It's in deep need of reform. But in my view, Uber's cure is worse than the disease.
  - smsm42 12y ago
    If you see Uber driver behaving badly, you can call Uber. >>> Good luck doing that with some rando driving for Uber, though. Why? Every driver is identified and known, and Uber has a lot of incentive to weed out bad drivers, especially when they are just starting the service and couple of bad reviews can kill adoption for a whole market. What incentive Uber has to support bad service? I can tell one incentive for city politicians to do it - taxi lobbyists pay into their campaign funds, and you do not (at least not as much, unless you are Zuckerberg, in which case you probably have your own limo anyway), so who has more influence on them? >>> For similar reasons, I'm also pretty sure the insurance situation is solid. Because Uber just dreams about uninsured million-dollar lawsuit. Nothing inspires investors to invest into a young business as much as an uninsured risk of a million-dollar lawsuits, right? And Uber doesn't care about investors or risks - unlike city politicians whose very future is linked to the fact whether city would be sued or not, since lawsuit cost comes out of their pockets... Oh wait, I got it in reverse - city politician could not care less if the city is sued since taxpayers would pay it anyway, while Uber guys risk their own money and their investors money. Yet somehow you trust more the guy who uses your money to insure your risks and has zero incentive to preserve it and large incentive to follow lobby interests over guy who uses their own money and has large incentive to preserve it. I wonder how it works out for you. >>> But in my view, Uber's cure is worse than the disease. Worse in what? Of course, if you refuse to trust anything that does not say "State Commission" and is not rules by an unaccountable bureaucrat, then every cure would be worse than the disease for you. However, do not be very surprised if you find no cures at all, because you seem to be insisting on having the disease as a precondition to finding the cure.
    - wpietri 12y ago
      > Why? Every driver is identified and known Because every taxi is marked with a number that I can see. Uber cars are just random cars. And Uber is just one of many services employing any warm body they can find. The rest seems like generic Argument From Libertarian Fantasy, with the apparently requisite bad grammar and bad-faith assumptions about my views. And of course it's from someone who won't publicly stand behind their arguments.
      - smsm42 12y ago
        Every car is marked with a number you can see. And these numbers, just as driver names, are known to each Uber user and of course to Uber company. Did you ever use Uber? There's no anonymity there - you know who your driver is, and Uber knows too. Everything is recorded. It's not a fantasy, it's a fact that is obvious to anybody who used the service even once. And Uber asks every user at the end of the service for the rating. Uber may be employing a lot of people, but they are in no way anonymous or untrackable. >>> with the apparently requisite bad grammar Yes, English is not my native language. You caught me. This invalidates all my arguments, of course. You won, take a cookie.
        wpietri 12y ago
        > Every car is marked with a number you can see. Not in my city. And many Uber cars display no logo at all. > Yes, English is not my native language. You caught me. This invalidates all my arguments, of course. You won, take a cookie. It is regrettably also how loons write. When combined with their typical arguments, it is going to get you written off as a loon. One way to fix this is to stand behind your words and just say something about yourself in your profile.
        smsm42 12y ago
        >>> Not in my city. Wait, in your city cars don't have license plates? Which city is that?
        12y ago

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

adampassword 12y ago

Agree

smsm42 12y ago

Are you sure taxi screening and insurance is sufficient? When was the last time you checked how taxi drivers are screened?

wpietri 12y ago
One of the things I like about taxi drivers is that they are accountable. If I see one behaving badly, I call up the city taxi commission and let 'em know. If the commission decides they shouldn't be driving a taxi, they will no longer be driving a taxi at all in this town. Good luck doing that with some rando driving for Uber, though. For similar reasons, I'm also pretty sure the insurance situation is solid. In direct contrast to Uber, where they actively disclaim any responsibility for their cars and drivers. There are a lot of problems with the taxi industry. It's in deep need of reform. But in my view, Uber's cure is worse than the disease.
- smsm42 12y ago
  If you see Uber driver behaving badly, you can call Uber. >>> Good luck doing that with some rando driving for Uber, though. Why? Every driver is identified and known, and Uber has a lot of incentive to weed out bad drivers, especially when they are just starting the service and couple of bad reviews can kill adoption for a whole market. What incentive Uber has to support bad service? I can tell one incentive for city politicians to do it - taxi lobbyists pay into their campaign funds, and you do not (at least not as much, unless you are Zuckerberg, in which case you probably have your own limo anyway), so who has more influence on them? >>> For similar reasons, I'm also pretty sure the insurance situation is solid. Because Uber just dreams about uninsured million-dollar lawsuit. Nothing inspires investors to invest into a young business as much as an uninsured risk of a million-dollar lawsuits, right? And Uber doesn't care about investors or risks - unlike city politicians whose very future is linked to the fact whether city would be sued or not, since lawsuit cost comes out of their pockets... Oh wait, I got it in reverse - city politician could not care less if the city is sued since taxpayers would pay it anyway, while Uber guys risk their own money and their investors money. Yet somehow you trust more the guy who uses your money to insure your risks and has zero incentive to preserve it and large incentive to follow lobby interests over guy who uses their own money and has large incentive to preserve it. I wonder how it works out for you. >>> But in my view, Uber's cure is worse than the disease. Worse in what? Of course, if you refuse to trust anything that does not say "State Commission" and is not rules by an unaccountable bureaucrat, then every cure would be worse than the disease for you. However, do not be very surprised if you find no cures at all, because you seem to be insisting on having the disease as a precondition to finding the cure.
  - wpietri 12y ago
    > Why? Every driver is identified and known Because every taxi is marked with a number that I can see. Uber cars are just random cars. And Uber is just one of many services employing any warm body they can find. The rest seems like generic Argument From Libertarian Fantasy, with the apparently requisite bad grammar and bad-faith assumptions about my views. And of course it's from someone who won't publicly stand behind their arguments.
    - smsm42 12y ago
      Every car is marked with a number you can see. And these numbers, just as driver names, are known to each Uber user and of course to Uber company. Did you ever use Uber? There's no anonymity there - you know who your driver is, and Uber knows too. Everything is recorded. It's not a fantasy, it's a fact that is obvious to anybody who used the service even once. And Uber asks every user at the end of the service for the rating. Uber may be employing a lot of people, but they are in no way anonymous or untrackable. >>> with the apparently requisite bad grammar Yes, English is not my native language. You caught me. This invalidates all my arguments, of course. You won, take a cookie.
      - wpietri 12y ago
        > Every car is marked with a number you can see. Not in my city. And many Uber cars display no logo at all. > Yes, English is not my native language. You caught me. This invalidates all my arguments, of course. You won, take a cookie. It is regrettably also how loons write. When combined with their typical arguments, it is going to get you written off as a loon. One way to fix this is to stand behind your words and just say something about yourself in your profile.
        smsm42 12y ago
        >>> Not in my city. Wait, in your city cars don't have license plates? Which city is that?
        12y ago