Arbitraging WHAT regulations? They use licensed limo drivers, who are already out driving every day. They're simply helping those drivers fill their excess capacity. Limo drivers have been driving legally, under as much or more regulation than taxi drivers for years. Why is national regulation being pushed now, to require (among other things) towncars to be booked at least 30 minutes in advance? It certainly smacks of "big bad entrenched regulators" trying to fuck over a sprightly new startup.
Maybe you can explain how advanced booking regulations for an already regulated industry that didn't need them ever before helps benefit the public good. Even if that were the case, does that outweigh the good limo drivers get from being able to make a better living? Most of these drivers don't own their own vehicles, they work for someone else, and are just trying to make a living. Requiring those hard-working drivers to have people schedule 30+ minutes in advance is taking money out of their pockets. It also prevents consumers from having a choice in how to get around, leaving them at the mercy of an often under-supplied taxi system. I can't see how any of the proposed regulation benefits the public, and I certainly can't see how it offsets the benefits of what Uber brings.
Tourists having a choice over a taxi or towncar doesn't hurt New York City's tourism industry. That seems like an absurd argument to me. I guess I fail to see how using licensed drivers who are already regulated, and who could be hired with or without Uber is a case against Uber.
* They're simply helping those drivers fill their excess capacity. Limo drivers have been driving legally, under as much or more regulation than taxi drivers for years. *
Not all Uber drivers are licensed limo drivers or hold taxicab medallions. Moreover, there is a substantial difference between limosuine and taxicab services: by definition, limosuines are reserved in advance (and are thus not subject to fee caps), while taxicabs are hired on the spot (so the fees they may charge are stricly regulated to protect consumers).
Why is national regulation being pushed now, to require (among other things) towncars to be booked at least 30 minutes in advance? It certainly smacks of "big bad entrenched regulators" trying to fuck over a sprightly new startup.
It's not. You need to learn the difference between a national regulation and a bunch of major cities and metropolitan areas coming together to decide on a set of common rules that they will all agree to adopt. Here's a hint: a national regulation applies everywhere. A voluntary set of common rules applies only to those jurisdictions which agree to adopt the common rules. This is a good thing; it means that future market entrants will have an easier time figuring out the rules.
Maybe you can explain how advanced booking regulations for an already regulated industry that didn't need them ever before helps benefit the public good.
Booking regulations already exist in every major taxicab market. These regulations predate WWII.
Most of these drivers don't own their own vehicles, they work for someone else, and are just trying to make a living. Requiring those hard-working drivers to have people schedule 30+ minutes in advance is taking money out of their pockets.
If these drivers are working for someone else and using that company's cars, then they are generally required to book all trips through that company's systems. If they aren't, they are basically stiffing the company providing their car out of a portion of some of their fees. If that's true, then Uber could be liable for tortious interference with contracts (between the drivers and their cab companies), which is also crime in some states.
I can't see how any of the proposed regulation benefits the public, and I certainly can't see how it offsets the benefits of what Uber brings.
No, but plenty of other people can. Regulations exist to protect the common good, not to maximize the benefit of specific individuals (though in the course of protecting the common good many regulations will increase benefits to participants in affected markets).
Is there any evidence Uber is using ANY drivers who don't have the proper licenses to work as commercial drivers in the cities they work? You're suggesting something that I haven't read anywhere.
What common good is being protected by requiring a towncar be booked 30+ minutes in advance? And if that was for the public good, why didn't those regulations come back when booking regulations were original drafted (apparently pre WW2)? The only people I've seen who have argued that Uber is against the "common good" are people who associate common good with the best interests of taxi medallion owners, and I haven't heard a compelling argument for how this regulation will help protect the common good (especially how it will outweigh the destruction of common good a free market with choice over transportation provides that would be killed).
A friend booked an Uber car I rode in recently whose driver informed me that he drove Uber because license suspensions prevented him from driving for any normal black car service.
Jason Fried recently said that he had made a point of talking to every Uber driver he rode with, and that he had gotten uniformly glowing assessments from those drivers about Uber. I'm running the same experiment later than he is, and getting very different results.
I've read a number of statements from Uber, and talked to every driver I've had. My understanding is that they all are required to be licensed (and in fact are already limo drivers who are filling free time). I haven't run into a driver yet who drove for Uber full time.
I've also found that I've gotten uniformly glowing assessments from all my drivers about Uber. This past weekend, my driver told me that "Uber is the best thing to happen to the transportation business ever". He had driven taxis, limos and worked as a delivery driver before. I hear similar stories from all my other drivers. It's certainly a different experience than riding in a taxi, but it's always hard to generalize from my limited number of rides/drivers.
I have not gotten uniformly glowing assessments, but none of the bad things I've heard were Uber's fault, so much as they were reasons why the Uber business model in Chicago is sometimes inferior to that of the conventional black car model.
My friend's driver didn't tell me he wasn't "licensed"; what he was telling me was that he was, for conventional livery companies, uninsurable. It seems clear to me that Uber checks drivers differently than black car companies do.
Maybe you can explain how advanced booking regulations for an already regulated industry that didn't need them ever before helps benefit the public good. Even if that were the case, does that outweigh the good limo drivers get from being able to make a better living? Most of these drivers don't own their own vehicles, they work for someone else, and are just trying to make a living. Requiring those hard-working drivers to have people schedule 30+ minutes in advance is taking money out of their pockets. It also prevents consumers from having a choice in how to get around, leaving them at the mercy of an often under-supplied taxi system. I can't see how any of the proposed regulation benefits the public, and I certainly can't see how it offsets the benefits of what Uber brings.
Tourists having a choice over a taxi or towncar doesn't hurt New York City's tourism industry. That seems like an absurd argument to me. I guess I fail to see how using licensed drivers who are already regulated, and who could be hired with or without Uber is a case against Uber.