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Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

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Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

#41

Post by brazzy »

bitJericho wrote: post #26
tstactplsignore wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Whether it's for the better or worse simply doesn't matter Yikes- I have only a little sympathy for the taxi industry, but it is very scary that you do not believe we should be concerned with whether market forces improve society or not. I think it is extremely important to the vast majority of people that any enormous change in transportation occurs for the benefit of society - the ideology that capitalism is an en…

We'll see what you think of the cab industry when uber raises their prices by 3 times in order to become profitable, after the cabbies all gone.

That's the thing - without the artificial entry barriers like medallions, if they do that then a competitor like Lyft can show up and undercut them very quickly.

Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

#42

Post by linkregister »

bitJericho wrote: post #28
TY wrote: post #6

Anectodal evidence from my trip to Chicago last week. The same trip cost me twice as much when I took a taxi vs Lyft. So guess what I'm going to take the next time...

In a taxi your ride was insured if the driver got in an accident. Your cabbie is certified, and less likely to be crazy. Also half your lyft/uber ride is paid by a VC.

The Uber/Lyft ride is ensured by the company; your driver might be screwed if they crashed on the way to pick you up, however.

Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

#43

Post by fitchjo »

I do feel a bit for those individuals that bought a taxi medallion recently and are unlikely to be able to pay it off due to the change in dynamics; on the other hand, the only reason the price of the medallions were so high was that the market dynamics were being manipulated (by controlling the supply). The risk that those market dynamics could change should have been included in the price of the medallion - if someone did not properly consider whether that risk was appropriately priced when purchasing a medallion, that is their fault. The only real costs they talk about that are different for a taxi versus uber aren't significant (1,176 taxi fee and 1,000 every two years for the medallion renewal) and do provide them a competitive advantage (being able to pick up rides hailed on the street.

Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

#44

Post by justaman »

TY wrote: post #6

Anectodal evidence from my trip to Chicago last week. The same trip cost me twice as much when I took a taxi vs Lyft. So guess what I'm going to take the next time...

Bar time in Madison. Lyft was about $60, a cab was $20.

If you find yourself around people in their twenties all looking for rides at 3am, call a cab.

Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

#45

Post by wayn3 »

sharemywin wrote: post #17

As much as I think the taxi system needed replaced, I'm not sure how I feel about companies breaking laws to innovate. If we go down that path are the south american drug cartels just ahead of their time.

laws that are obvious bullshit need to be broken

Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

#46

Post by xigency »

bitJericho wrote: post #28
TY wrote: post #6

Anectodal evidence from my trip to Chicago last week. The same trip cost me twice as much when I took a taxi vs Lyft. So guess what I'm going to take the next time...

In a taxi your ride was insured if the driver got in an accident. Your cabbie is certified, and less likely to be crazy. Also half your lyft/uber ride is paid by a VC.

I think the VC money and lack of regulations is a huge issue.

What people don't realize is that once the taxi companies are dead, the ride sharing apps will be able to raise prices and lower quality. Not to mention the issues already seen with Uber and Lyft, whether at a corporate level or on a driver/passenger level.

Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

#47

Post by TulliusCicero »

bitJericho wrote: post #26
tstactplsignore wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Whether it's for the better or worse simply doesn't matter Yikes- I have only a little sympathy for the taxi industry, but it is very scary that you do not believe we should be concerned with whether market forces improve society or not. I think it is extremely important to the vast majority of people that any enormous change in transportation occurs for the benefit of society - the ideology that capitalism is an en…

We'll see what you think of the cab industry when uber raises their prices by 3 times in order to become profitable, after the cabbies all gone.

Yeah, and I bet after Borders shuts down, you'll see Amazon raise book prices sky-high!

People always claim this will happen, and it never seems to. If Uber tripled prices, a competitor would start up to cut into their market share.

Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

#48

Post by kasey_junk »

alkonaut wrote: post #22
kasey_junk wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have much higher legislative hurdles to overcome?

Would they need to pass red tape to have their customers hail with an app rather than call a dispatcher? Sounds like the medallion system isn't the only thing wrong here.

They have an app. It's also more regulated.

Taxis are also horrible so I'm not convinced they could compete in any case but it's not a fair playing field.

My bet though is on Lyft/Uber becoming just as horrible once the VC money dries up. It will be interesting to see what legislation will arise between then & now.

Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

#49

Post by incongruity »

brianwawok wrote: post #32
bitJericho wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We'll see what you think of the cab industry when uber raises their prices by 3 times in order to become profitable, after the cabbies all gone.

As long as Lyft is around, they can't.

You're right. There are no markets in which a few dominant players capture significant profits because there are only a few dominant players who exploit barriers to entry or network effects to stay on top...

Except pharma, telecom, energy, airlines and one or two others...

Re: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

#50

Post by weberc2 »

tstactplsignore wrote: post #9
basseq wrote: post #3

I'm left wondering... so what? The "personal transportation" market has massively changed. Whether it's for the better or worse simply doesn't matter . Veteran Chicago cabbie John Aikins,67, who is facing foreclosure on two medallions for which he owes more than $330,0000, said he has little hope that the industry can be saved. "It feels like the city is just watching us collapse," Aikins said. "Right now, there are…

>Whether it's for the better or worse simply doesn't matter Yikes- I have only a little sympathy for the taxi industry, but it is very scary that you do not believe we should be concerned with whether market forces improve society or not. I think it is extremely important to the vast majority of people that any enormous change in transportation occurs for the benefit of society - the ideology that capitalism is an en…

I read the original post a couple of times after reading your comment, and I don't get any vibe that he doesn't think we should be concerned about the impact of market forces on social wellbeing. Unless you're implying something about the taxi industry being a social good more so than Uber or Lyft, but that seems unlikely given that you have little sympathy for the industry.

I live in Chicago, and I don't know if Lyft and Uber are a social good, but taxis were too expensive for me, and now I have another affordable option for transportation. Plus all of the drivers I've spoken to seem pretty happy with their new source of income, so it's mostly the city and medallion owners that are losing out. The city can take action to help ease medallion owners out of the industry without defaulting as the demand continues to decline, and drivers are completely qualified for the ride-share industry. As far as disruptions go, this one seems pretty agreeable (I don't have much sympathy for the bureaucrats who are stuck between raising taxes and rooting out corruption and mismanagement in order to make up the difference).

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