Because a monopoly is when the government says, “Only one business is allowed to provide service X in our jurisdiction.”
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Right - my point being that before Uber, that was your only option. Back when I actually used to go out on New Year’s, I remember many a frigid New Year’s walking home in -20C (plus whatever awful windchill off Lake Ontario) conditions. Because Toronto, like most municipalities, has a set number of taxi plates available (because reasons). I’m not particularly a fan of Uber’s surge pricing model (or rather, the algorithm they use to determine surge rates), but the problem that it is theoretically supposed to be trying to fix is indeed a real one to which I haven’t seen a good alternative solution.
Save that Toronto has been flooding the market with ambassador licenses and we literally have too many taxis now. With all their fees and insurance and needing to replace the car every 5 years and now 1 in 5 cars have to be wheelchair accessible AND uber its nigh impossible to make a living as a taxi driver. It’s nuts. I agree that the industry needs to change but I feel like uber is just punishing the guys who played by the rules. Unfair rules. (Also it haRd to get a cab on NYE cuz lots of taxis don’t work it. Apparently streets full if drunk people aren’t fun to work with)
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mo·nop·o·ly
məˈnäpəlē/Submit
noun
1.
the exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service.
“his likely motive was to protect his regional monopoly on furs”
Actually the government has historically been against monopolies and frequently breaks them up. See US v. Microsoft circa 1991. The government also prevents the Telcom’s from having monopolies as well. In fact there’s hundreds of example of government enacting regulations specifically to prevent monopolies and protect the public intrest.
I’d also point out the fact that Uber has more lobbyist’s than any other private corporation of it’s size, which is obviously how they’ve manage to fight their way into lock out markets such as, Portand, Vegas, and D.C. And according to your theory that government approves this sort of corruption then it certainly isn’t out of Uber’s price range to buy their own. In fact I’d be willing to say that if that option was actually available then Travis Kalanick certainly would have taken it already.
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Sure - my experience was easily 10 years ago, or more, so I’m sure the landscape is different now. I guess my question is - why are so many people snapping up these ambassador licenses if it’s nigh impossible to make a living as a taxi driver?
And regarding this:
I wish I was allowed to not go to work on days when it wasn’t fun. I’m only being half sarcastic… This is part of the reason why people dislike the taxi industry. Doing things like not going out on NYE, illegally refusing fares that are too short (like what happened with the girl that got shot at Muzik last year), etc, is it any wonder that people are so quick to jump on an alternative like Uber?
not at all,. You could negotiate with that guy who has a car, and he will charge you whatever he wants at the moment. uber just formalizes that potential ripoff, and makes it less likely to occur.
But medallions are owned by people who have agreed to extra responsibilities, those decided by a democratic process.
And that is why I take them. Because Uber subverts the democratic process wherever it feels it ought to or can get away with it.
Plenty of places without those regs. Uber freely there, NYC has regs.
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Because 99% of them are immigrants with no other job prospects and they can get a job doing that quicker than anything else they’ll find. I promise you the drivers with degrees that are useless in Canada would rather be doing anything else than driving taxis. But our immigration issues are another discussion altogether. (Why it’s almost as if this issue is complicated!) 
There’s a lot wrong with the industry don’t get me wrong. But I worked in nigh clubs downtown in the 90s and I wouldn’t work NYE either unless I had to. It’s the worst night of the year. I do not blame them at all. ( Also subways and busses are free on NYE!)
@AcerPlatanoides yes. This. I am not getting in an uninsured car! I wouldn’t eat at a restaurant that doesn’t follow health safety protocols because it’s “cheaper” either.
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Speaking in the context of taxi service, in most big American cities the government has historically not only encouraged monopolies but explicitly protected them. Your dictionary definition is correct in other contexts.
True, and it’s a damn shame that they were forced to go that route.
What is appropriate are regulations governing the safety of vehicles/drivers that are used for public hire, irrespective of the business model. All vehicles should be carefully inspected, all drivers bonded, and all should carry adequate insurance.
What is NOT appropriate are regulations that restrict new drivers/vehicles which meet the above from entering the market.
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Agreed. Let’s make it so!
Which cities are you referring too? In NYC all cab are yellow, this is true but the medallions are owned by several different companies with quite a few independents as well. I’ve never been to a US city that didn’t have more than one option when it came to taxi companies.
I suppose if I had to speculate I’d say Las Vegas is probably the worst when it comes to corruption. But it’s because the city taxi board is made up of the actual company owners and they decided who got a license and who didn’t. But they were eventually sued and lost. And they still had more than one cab company in town.
Really really good analogy.
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I agree with that. Now let’s hold Uber and Lyft to the same standards as the rest of us and let the market decide.
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So we should give up on any regulation?
would no system actually be LESS prone to corruption than that system? REALLY?
by the power of grayskull? What force?
From the passenger’s POV, I do not think that this makes any difference. Unless you are aware of some medallion holders that have attempted to differentiate themselves from the others based on superior service. That has not been my experience where I’ve lived . . . . . Chicago, Miami, Minneapolis, and Cincy.
No. See my post about 5-6 upthread from here.
By local politicians who said, “Fellate us, or you’ll never do business in this town.” Fighting Grayskull would have been a lot cheaper.
I’ll give you that. It’s by design, most municipalities tend to consider taxis as a public utility. They have strict guidelines on the livery design, make/model/age of the vehicle, insurance minimums, inspected and sealed meters. Ideally this should be done to protect the general public from unscrupulous individuals. I can see how the average passenger would be oblivious to these minuet differences.
However if you get into a major accident in an Uber and needed $1M+ of medical expenses though, I guarantee you’d quickly become an expert.
Sure - but randomly walking down the street begging random people for rides generally isn’t a very successful strategy, particularly on New Year’s Eve. And Uber, at the very least, requires its drivers to get a background check and safety check on their car.
I’d be curious about the statistics on this, actually. If it’s easier to get a job as a cab driver as opposed to, say, entry level jobs in retail or at a call center or the like.
Neither would I, I certainly don’t blame them. But at the same time, I don’t begrudge another company coming in and jumping on the opportunity either.
Again - haven’t tried to do this in the last 10 years (because ugh clubs on NYE blech) - but my experience with trying to get on a TTC bus or streetcar anywhere near the club district after the clubs closed on NYE was that, once again, your only real option was walking, or waiting in the cold for an hour to get on one. And if you’re going to be out in the cold for an hour any way, might as well use that hour walking home. And that’s not even taking into account if you live anywhere in the suburbs (God help you). The year I was living in Parkdale and had to walk home in -30-with-windchill weather on NYE (watching several full-to-the-gills King streetcars go past me, all the way home) was probably the last straw for me, in terms of NYE clubbing.
I hear this argument a lot, but I’m not sure how valid it is… I’ve heard tales of insurance companies trying to crack down on Uber drivers to force them to get commercial insurance policies but haven’t heard of any claims being denied in Uber accident situations. Uber also has their own insurance policy on TOP of a driver’s personal policy, presumably to cover passengers (and other involved parties) in the case of a Canadian insurance company deciding to refuse a claim made by an Uber driver/passenger.
I looked into the requirements for getting a taxi license in Toronto recently (as compared to the requirements to become an Uber driver), and as far as I can tell, aside from the vagaries surrounding your personal insurance policy as an Uber driver, the only difference is that Toronto taxi drivers are required to be First Aid/CPR qualified, and take the Toronto taxi course (which sounds more like a customer service course - there certainly doesn’t appear to be any driving capability test involved, or a knowledge test, or actually ANY test in it aside from you sitting through the course). I’d actually be totally fine with making Uber drivers sit through that course and get First Aid/CPR qualified as well. Oh, and Uber cars are required to be 2005 or newer, as opposed to being replaced every 5 years with the taxi companies, which I think is a bit long in the tooth as well, and that’s something Uber should really look into updating as well.
At least in Canada, Uber has their own policy with $5 million of “contingent coverage for bodily injury and property damage to third parties” (source). I’d be surprised if they don’t have something similar in the US.
And how many cabs are you able to get in NYC on New Year’s Eve?
I’m not sure about every state, but in Michigan they’re considered a “Transportation Networking Company” and are therefore exempt from all States limousine regulations and local municipalities Taxi regulations. Basically get a new enough car, pass the BGC, and show proof of PL/PD insurance and you’re good to go.
From what I understand the problem is when somebody actually makes a claim, the MI basic no fault policy only pays 20/40/10 - that is $20K for personal injury/death, $40K for each accident in which multiple people are injured or killed and $10K property damage out of state.
This is one of the best advantages Uber has. Normally a limousine policy in Michigan is $2500+/year and has $1M in PL/PD. And Uber isn’t actually responsible for any liability because all the drivers are self employed contractors.
The case of Luis v. Uber, Syed Muzzafar is a good example. Uber ended up settling out of court.
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