Amazon, Amid Crackdown on Seller Scams, Fires Employees Over Data Leak

To me, at least, this assertion requires some substantiation.

It seems to me that what Uber has been better at than traditional taxi services is solely the technology. I can only expect to hail a taxi on demand if I'm in a big city, airport, train station, or other transit center; if I'm in a rural area, suburb, or even a smaller city, I'll probably have to call to arrange a pickup and hope it actually arrives. (My personal luck with calling for taxis has been...spotty at best, while for Uber and Lyft so far it's been 100%.)

But "cleaning up and regulating the market?" I don't see how ride-sharing services are doing anything to regulate the market, and "cleaning up" is pretty hard to measure. Ride shares tend to be cheaper than taxis, and I don't doubt that part of the cost of a taxi fare is due to regulation -- but a large part of it comes from the uncomfortable fact that Uber and Lyft are both subsidizing rides with VC money. If they actually charged enough for the ride to make a profit, average ride prices would easily double.

Also, while taxi regulation is pretty corrupt, well, Uber is maybe not the poster child we want for how unregulated companies are gonna do better on that front.

But for many things I shop for, that would be extremely inconvenient for me. For example, I needed to buy replacement fuses for a Fluke multimeter. Amazon itself didn't sell it but a 3rd-party marketplace seller did. If the marketplace was shut down, I'd have to go through the hassle of registering a new account on yet another ecommerce website just to buy that fuse. In this day and age of customer databases getting hacked, I'd rather not create any new accounts unless absolutely necessary.

Yes, I get the danger of counterfeit items. I did get bit by that with fake eclipse glasses from China last year but nevertheless, the 3rd-party marketplace has been a net positive for my shopping experience. I just pay attention to the seller ratings and make sure they're better than 98%.

Taxis used to be smelly and dirty. Drivers were quite cavalier in their attitudes towards customers. Hailing a taxi was difficult and chancy. I was scammed by drivers who would take me on indirect routes for more money.

It seems to me that what Uber has been better at than traditional taxi services is solely the technology.

That is precisely the point.

I don't see how ride-sharing services are doing anything to regulate the market, and "cleaning up" is pretty hard to measure.

There are now rapid and technologically mediated consequences for both drivers and riders for behaving badly. Uber drivers are always polite, and riders are always polite. Riders are now strongly motivated to never keep their drivers waiting, which was not the case for taxis. The vehicles smell better! Drivers never scam you by driving a circuitous route.

It's pretty obvious to me that the market is much better regulated through the technology.

Also, while taxi regulation is pretty corrupt, well, Uber is maybe not the poster child we want for how unregulated companies are gonna do better on that front.

The point is that while Uber is far from a poster child -- no argument there -- the technology (read: the rapid flow of accurate information in the market) still has them doing a better job than regulatory mechanisms from the 20th century.