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Does anyone know if other towncar services in Portland are required to follow the same regulations that Uber is being asked to follow? Services of the sort that

by Pyxl101 12y ago

Does anyone know if other towncar services in Portland are required to follow the same regulations that Uber is being asked to follow? Services of the sort that show up under "Portland towncar" or "Portland limo". A quick search on the matter reveals that Portland seems to have imposed ridiculous requirements on them: - a requirement that forces customers to arrange a trip with an executive sedan or limousine at least 60 minutes prior to pick-up. For example, if you request a town car and it comes in 10 minutes, you must wait 50 minutes before you are legally allowed to enter the vehicle. - a requirement that forces executive sedans and limousines to charge a 35% fixed premium above current taxi rates established by the city. This seems like serious and absurd intervention in the market for transportation. It's difficult for me to believe that rules like this are fair and justified. An article [1] suggests that these rules were put in place to "differentiate towncar service from taxicabs". The implication is that without these arbitrary limitations, taxicabs could not compete with towncars effectively. In other words, in an effort to protect the taxicab monopolies, the city is impairing other business. It seems to me to be the behavior of people in power who believe they know best. Haven't we learned by now that central planning is usually not an efficient way of allocating resources? This kind of interference in the market sounds like authoritarianism of the sort that I'd prefer not to see in my country. Strive to minimize regulation: limit it to matters of health and safety. Requiring insurance and an appropriate driver license seems reasonable. It seems like Portland is imposing rule after arbitrary rule on the marketplace. If I lived in Portland I would be furious that the city is interfering in such a way with business, and my personal right to contract with others for transportation in the manner that I want to. I suspect the city could accomplish its goals (such as ensuring that a certain number of vehicles provide transportation for the disabled) in a more efficient and fair manner, such as establishing a subsidy for transportation vehicles meeting certain requirements. It seems unreasonable to me that the city requires taxis to provide that service, rather than providing a subsidy for vehicles to support the disabled, or providing its own transportation directly, or contracting with a privacy company to do so. The point is, those issues shouldn't be arbitrarily bundled together (the business facility that provides taxis and the business facility that provides transportation to the disabled). Allow them to be the same company or not as the market allows. It also seems absurd to regulate the price charged for a fare. I have never understood the objection to surge pricing. When crazy things are happening (like snowstorms), drivers will not be out on the road working unless they're compensated more than usual. The rougher the circumstances, or the busier things are, the more the price needs to rise in order to provide adequate supply. Anyone objecting to the concept of surge pricing clearly does not understand basic economics. (Objecting to the implementation is a different matter.) A city trying to regulate maximum price is taking a thoughtless approach, and cannot be understood to genuinely have consumer interest at heart, since consumers will typically prefer to have transportation available at a high price than not at all. [1] http://www.geekwire.com/2014/portland-ridesharing/ http://www.geekwire.com/2014/portland-ridesharing/

viraptor 12y ago
Haven't been in 2 years, but when I ordered a town car and it took a few minutes - definitely not 60. I can't imagine they would follow such restrictions really.
- MetaCosm 12y ago
  The problem is people talk about "regulations" when what people should talk about is "enforcement". Inconsistent enforcement is a huge problem in a lot of taxi / black car markets -- yet people point to the regulations that no one follows as if they are silver bullets.
chasing 12y ago
> Haven't we learned by now that central planning is usually not an efficient way of allocating resources? No, we haven't. Because it often is an efficient way of allocating resources. Like within a company. Or within certain governmental organizations. Central planning can be awesome.
tzs 12y ago
> When crazy things are happening (like snowstorms), drivers will not be out on the road working unless they're compensated more than usual Balderdash. There's a trivial way to get drivers on the road during bad weather without surge pricing: you tell them that if they don't work during bad weather, the won't be allowed to work during good weather. > Anyone objecting to the concept of surge pricing clearly does not understand basic economics There's more to economics than what they cover in Ec101. A free market is not always the most efficient way to allocate resources. That's why, for instance, emergency rooms treat people based on the seriousness of their condition rather than based on who is willing to pay the most. Transportation during bad weather can become that kind of resource.
- SilasX 12y ago
  >Balderdash. There's a trivial way to get drivers on the road during bad weather without surge pricing: you tell them that if they don't work during bad weather, the won't be allowed to work during good weather Honest question: how well does that actually work in practice? Do cabbies generally fear the prospects of turning down have-to-takes? When was the last time one faced any consequences for nope-ing right past a black person? And would it even be practical? And how well does this "vinegar" strategy work to improve supply generally? Would you prefer a world in which grocers had to maintain constant produce prices through the year to the current one in which they charge more as the seasonal supply contracts?

by Pyxl101 12y ago

viraptor 12y ago

Haven't been in 2 years, but when I ordered a town car and it took a few minutes - definitely not 60. I can't imagine they would follow such restrictions really.

MetaCosm 12y ago
The problem is people talk about "regulations" when what people should talk about is "enforcement". Inconsistent enforcement is a huge problem in a lot of taxi / black car markets -- yet people point to the regulations that no one follows as if they are silver bullets.

chasing 12y ago

> Haven't we learned by now that central planning is usually not an efficient way of allocating resources? No, we haven't. Because it often is an efficient way of allocating resources. Like within a company. Or within certain governmental organizations. Central planning can be awesome.

tzs 12y ago

> When crazy things are happening (like snowstorms), drivers will not be out on the road working unless they're compensated more than usual Balderdash. There's a trivial way to get drivers on the road during bad weather without surge pricing: you tell them that if they don't work during bad weather, the won't be allowed to work during good weather. > Anyone objecting to the concept of surge pricing clearly does not understand basic economics There's more to economics than what they cover in Ec101. A free market is not always the most efficient way to allocate resources. That's why, for instance, emergency rooms treat people based on the seriousness of their condition rather than based on who is willing to pay the most. Transportation during bad weather can become that kind of resource.

SilasX 12y ago
>Balderdash. There's a trivial way to get drivers on the road during bad weather without surge pricing: you tell them that if they don't work during bad weather, the won't be allowed to work during good weather Honest question: how well does that actually work in practice? Do cabbies generally fear the prospects of turning down have-to-takes? When was the last time one faced any consequences for nope-ing right past a black person? And would it even be practical? And how well does this "vinegar" strategy work to improve supply generally? Would you prefer a world in which grocers had to maintain constant produce prices through the year to the current one in which they charge more as the seasonal supply contracts?