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Uber sign-ups soar by 850 percent as cab drivers protest

csmonitor.com

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Re: Uber sign-ups soar by 850 percent as cab drivers protest

#41

Post by ceejayoz »

mseebach wrote: post #17
ceejayoz wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've already invested an average of 34 months learning the London streets. You'd get a similar reaction if itw ere possible, say, for someone to become a doctor by signing up with a startup rather than going to medical school. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_the_United_Kingdom#...

If you could be a 95% effective doctor by using a $200 consumer electronics device, it'd be perfectly fair for people to be "Uber doctors" without going to medical school. And existing doctors would be up in arms, because technology rendered their investment almost worthless, not because they could present a meaningful challenge to the usefulness of "Uber doctors". "The knowledge" may very well at one point have been…

I don't disagree - I'm just saying I'd understand why the doctors would be upset about it.

Re: Uber sign-ups soar by 850 percent as cab drivers protest

#42

Post by Vik1ng »

mseebach wrote: post #17
ceejayoz wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've already invested an average of 34 months learning the London streets. You'd get a similar reaction if itw ere possible, say, for someone to become a doctor by signing up with a startup rather than going to medical school. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_the_United_Kingdom#...

If you could be a 95% effective doctor by using a $200 consumer electronics device, it'd be perfectly fair for people to be "Uber doctors" without going to medical school. And existing doctors would be up in arms, because technology rendered their investment almost worthless, not because they could present a meaningful challenge to the usefulness of "Uber doctors". "The knowledge" may very well at one point have been…

A driver didn't have enough sleep or one whith medical condition might very well kill you in an accident though.

Re: Uber sign-ups soar by 850 percent as cab drivers protest

#43

Post by pistle »

rlpb wrote: post #26
pistle wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do Uber drivers pay taxes to the municipalities in which their drivers deliver service? The regulators and the regulated both get something from the status quo. Selling medallions, etc. gets the city in which the drivers do business some revenue to pay for the services the city must provide to support the business. Taxes help fund roads, police, administration, etc. The "situation" is more complex than you describe a…

> I'm surprised that Uber hasn't put forth licensing a version of their infrastructure for use by black/yellow cabs for dispatch. They can provide access to customers along with a pretty seamless payment process. They have: http://blog.uber.com/UberTAXI

That's not what I mean at all and this model wouldn't work outside of places, like NYC, where drivers are indy contractors. Even there, it's not clear that this would be OK with the lessors or their cab. They may not be able to use this. I'm thinking something that cedes some control of the system while making available some of the functionality. SaaS, not a franchising exercise directly from Uber to drivers.

Re: Uber sign-ups soar by 850 percent as cab drivers protest

#44

Post by paddyoloughlin »

timclark wrote: post #25
paddyoloughlin wrote: post #16

Company's PR says that possibly controversial event for company results in huge benefit for said company. Hm. I'm not saying it not true, but it's playing in to an expectation that a lot of people had when they heard about this protest. So until there's independent evidence, I'll take the specifics of this claim with a dose of salt. Edit: Suggesting that one be reasonably skeptical of unverified company PR is downvot…

Uber ran full page ads in London's free newspapers yesterday, so it looks like they were planning on benefitting from the controversy.

I didn't know that, but I'm not surprised. It was the sensible thing to do.

My point is that it is also sensible for Uber to claim that it has resulted in a massive success for their company. It makes themselves seem savvy and the taxi drivers short-sighted.

Of course, the goal of the taxi drivers' protest not really about getting people to not use Uber so much as it is about getting the regulators to change their decision that Uber's app doesn't count as a taximeter.

Re: Uber sign-ups soar by 850 percent as cab drivers protest

#45

Post by DanBC »

_broody wrote: post #32
mseebach wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taxis are striking in London specifically because the regulator has said that Uber is legal.

Well, this shows the legislation is broken. Uber drivers can work without having to pay for medallions/licenses/what have you, and having to fulfill cumbersome regulations. If you rule they get a pass, then so should the cab drivers. They'll still get hosed because without a medallion system bottlenecking the amount of suppliers, taxi service becomes a race to the bottom that can't support a decent living. But at lea…

Taxis have a regulated taxi-meter. These are auditable and they enforce the set rates. This meter is a requirement to pick up people from the street with no booking.

Cabs do not have a meter. The customer can set a price before the journey. These must be pre-booked by phone. In theory there is a lot of regulation around criminal checks etc.

Uber exists in a grey middle ground. They are booked via the app; and the app acts like a meter. The regulator for London has recently said that the app is not a meter and thus Uber is fine.

So long as Uber is complying with local laws I'm fine with them operating. I guess they should be prepared for some of the backlash they'll face when an Uber driver murders a passenger. (Because, with a large enough number of drivers and passwngers and years it'll happen some time).

Re: Uber sign-ups soar by 850 percent as cab drivers protest

#46

Post by pistle »

avz wrote: post #27
pistle wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do Uber drivers pay taxes to the municipalities in which their drivers deliver service? The regulators and the regulated both get something from the status quo. Selling medallions, etc. gets the city in which the drivers do business some revenue to pay for the services the city must provide to support the business. Taxes help fund roads, police, administration, etc. The "situation" is more complex than you describe a…

They pay income taxes. The primary intent of medallions is not to raise funds for infrastructure. Their goal is to keep people out of the business. You can tell by the fact that they're regressive: they burden lower-income persons more than higher-income thereby preventing new competition from low-skilled workers and guaranteeing safety to the incumbents.

Income taxes for drivers likely do not benefit the municipalities where the cars are driving. e.g. The drivers would be consuming space and wear and tear in NYC, but living in Jersey. NYC roads and services necessary to support increased congestion get burdened, but no tax dollars help support them.

A regressive policy has nothing to do with the goal of the medallions. They cost what market forces will support. The goal of high-end watches is to keep poor people from knowing what time it is.

The medallions aren't for infrastructure. I'd argue the medallions are supported by both the city and existing cabbies because of congestion and quality management issues. It's a way to ensure minimal levels of service and to punish bad (well, abhorrent) service.

The tax on fares is for infrastructure and administration. In NYC, $.50/trip is imposed. What's Uber paying?

I guess Uber couldn't know when it was dealing with a NYC fare subject to the tax... Oh, wait they couldn't offer that since it would imply they were a taxi service subject to other regs... So, they have to flaunt all the laws and put themselves in a legal bind that isn't all "just obvious barriers to entry."

Re: Uber sign-ups soar by 850 percent as cab drivers protest

#47

Post by throwaway0010 »

avz wrote: post #9
rakoo wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taxi drivers went on strike because taxi drivers and uber drivers don't have the same requirements for doing what amounts to be the same job. In short, becoming a taxi driver is hard and extremelly expensive, becoming a uber driver is easier and cheaper. So these strikes are more against the unfair regulation than against Uber and the likes.

This is a misrepresentation. Taxi drivers are not protesting against the regulation. In fact, in most places taxi drivers and their unions are strong supporters of the said regulations and have worked for decades to get it in place. It's a typical situation where a bunch of "insiders" have striven for years to keep "outsiders" away with the goal of reducing competition. Another typical aspect to this situation is how…

Agreed. The name for this is "regulatory capture."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture

Re: Uber sign-ups soar by 850 percent as cab drivers protest

#48

Post by lozf »

alextgordon wrote: post #20
ceejayoz wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've already invested an average of 34 months learning the London streets. You'd get a similar reaction if itw ere possible, say, for someone to become a doctor by signing up with a startup rather than going to medical school. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_the_United_Kingdom#...

In theory, that's great. In practice, cabbies still rip people off sometimes. I'd be happier if they always took the Google Maps route. It's sad but they are simply a victim of technology. Before sat nav, minicab drivers were very unreliable. They would get lost, they would have to consult maps, etc. Now, a minicab is as good or better than a taxi.

Ugh, no. There are times when the Google Maps route would take way longer than even reasonably obvious alternative routes. Particularly in London. Google tries to pick the quickest route, but these roads are often way too busy.

As usual it turns out that there are good & bad taxi drivers, and good & bad mini-cab drivers / companies too.

Re: Uber sign-ups soar by 850 percent as cab drivers protest

#49

Post by petercooper »

malka wrote: post #34
0x0 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because some would argue running a taxi-like business without a taxi license is breaking the law.

you do not need a licence to be a taxi. You need one to be a cab. Uber are NOT cabs. they are private driver. You cannot hail one from the street.

It's the other way around in London parlance. Taxis are more tightly regulated but have freedom to pick up from ranks, can be flagged in the street, etc. Minicabs (sometimes generically called "cabs") are also regulated but to a much lesser extent and are predominantly private drivers.

Re: Uber sign-ups soar by 850 percent as cab drivers protest

#50

Post by hyp0 »

With both the taxi and hotel industries being disrupted (technical meaning), I wonder if there's a pattern here... Is it a direct consequential of the web, enabling new ways to connect customers and providers? Or, deeper societal forces at work, making this a general time of change for other, non-technological reasons?

Or just coincidence...?

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