Interesting. I read French articles that claim two drivers were arrested, not managers. http://www.europe1.fr/faits-divers/uberpop-deux-chauffeurs-e...
Two Uber managers detained in France over 'illicit' low-cost service
41–50 of 88 posts
Re: Two Uber managers detained in France over 'illicit' low-cost service
#42Every time this topic comes up, the discussion always revolves around whether or not Uber is properly licensed, or if it's fair for them to operate. What's often overlooked is the very reason so many of these licenses became as valuable as they did in the first place, and like so many economic issues it boils down to one thing: trust. For example, anyone who's seen more of NYC than just JFK airport and Times Square k…
Isn't this the lesson about the `disruption` trend we've seen in the previous years. Everybody comes with a cheaper idea, that is actually just doing less while we forgot how much was done in what we thought was too high priced. Saying that after reviewing all that major Airplanes (vs RyanAir) gave you in a flight, food, blankets, gifts, music with weirdly shaped earphones, special magazines... of course we don't use it all the time, but the fact that it is ensured is what makes the cost.
It's not as sensitive as riding in a stranger car with no information about him whatsoever. But the basic idea is the same: we have to be honest and take in account the whole system when comparing.
Re: Two Uber managers detained in France over 'illicit' low-cost service
#43Every time this topic comes up, the discussion always revolves around whether or not Uber is properly licensed, or if it's fair for them to operate. What's often overlooked is the very reason so many of these licenses became as valuable as they did in the first place, and like so many economic issues it boils down to one thing: trust. For example, anyone who's seen more of NYC than just JFK airport and Times Square k…
"Instead, as citizens, we should look at the regulations we have and ask if they still serve to protect people as they once did, or if they now exist to protect political and business interests."
Those are grand words for defending a taxi company that uses an app with driver + passenger ratings as basis for arguing that it is not a taxi company and that it shouldn't need to employ actual drivers.
Are you sure you didn't think about copyright law or investor state settlements laws when you wrote your comment?
Re: Two Uber managers detained in France over 'illicit' low-cost service
#44Every time this topic comes up, the discussion always revolves around whether or not Uber is properly licensed, or if it's fair for them to operate. What's often overlooked is the very reason so many of these licenses became as valuable as they did in the first place, and like so many economic issues it boils down to one thing: trust. For example, anyone who's seen more of NYC than just JFK airport and Times Square k…
"Instead, as citizens, we should look at the regulations we have and ask if they still serve to protect people as they once did, or if they now exist to protect political and business interests"
Answer: No. Not at all.
Now what? Vote everybody out because they didn't let Uber/Lyft into my city? Cool. Then what? Shall every 4 years I vote everyone out of office to solve my one or two top issues? Great. I can now change things I don't like at a rate of less than one thing per year. Maybe a full issue per year if I'm super lucky.
Re: Two Uber managers detained in France over 'illicit' low-cost service
#45Good. You don't get to just pay a fine and ignore the law because you've got the money. Would that the US followed this example and started sentencing flagrant lawbreakers to jail time.
Re: Two Uber managers detained in France over 'illicit' low-cost service
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
The licenses are what made the taxi system so inefficient.
Defending law violations only by arguing that they make "the economy" more efficient is not very convincing. Especially in this case since the real innovations that Uber brings in terms of ride allocation are not incompatible with paying taxes and insurance. Rather, the technical innovations of Uber appear to in themselves not be enough to actually compete with existing taxis, hence why the second innovation of actua…
Transportation being cheaper and more efficient means people save time and save money. Uber has also allowed hundreds of thousands of people with an income source.
_That_ is a convincing argument to me.
"Actually compete with existing taxis"
They are competing, Uber is doing 3-5x more rides in SF than the taxis as a whole were doing before Uber. That's without including Lyft. So they're expanding the market, meaning more people can afford to pay for transportation.
Re: Two Uber managers detained in France over 'illicit' low-cost service
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tell that to Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Ghandi...
Yes, because providing unlicensed taxi service is the same thing as civil rights.
First of all, the OP was making a general point about the best way to go about challenging existing laws. Since the point is general, a counter example suffice, even if it differs from the specifics of the situation being discussed. If those specifics make a difference in the OP's point, the onus of outlining why they make a difference is on the OP. This is how logical reasoning works, but every. single. time. someone points out a counter example to a general statement, there is someone like who who comes and moves the goalpost by saying "oh yeah, because X is like Y", and we're all worse off because of this lack of debating etiquette.
Second, you would be wrong to trivialize the importance of expanding the offering in cabs. Uber will go into neighborhood where Taxis don't, they can also be substantially cheaper depending on the city and the specifics. Having access to a ride late at night can mean the difference between being raped or not raped for many people living in high crime neighborhood. In addition, Uber provides a livelihood for a large number of drivers. The taxis that it compete are generally renting their license from a large company who is collecting the monopoly rent.
Re: Two Uber managers detained in France over 'illicit' low-cost service
#48Re: Two Uber managers detained in France over 'illicit' low-cost service
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tell that to Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Ghandi...
Those people tried an awful lot of things before breaking the law. Uber doesn't seem to have tried very hard and just went for it.
People have tried to challenge cab monopolies for decades without any success.
Re: Two Uber managers detained in France over 'illicit' low-cost service
#50Every time this topic comes up, the discussion always revolves around whether or not Uber is properly licensed, or if it's fair for them to operate. What's often overlooked is the very reason so many of these licenses became as valuable as they did in the first place, and like so many economic issues it boils down to one thing: trust. For example, anyone who's seen more of NYC than just JFK airport and Times Square k…
Isn't this the lesson about the `disruption` trend we've seen in the previous years. Everybody comes with a cheaper idea, that is actually just doing less while we forgot how much was done in what we thought was too high priced. Saying that after reviewing all that major Airplanes (vs RyanAir) gave you in a flight, food, blankets, gifts, music with weirdly shaped earphones, special magazines... of course we don't use…
"No information about him whatsoever"
Please use factual information if you're going to converse. You have more information on an Uber driver than a taxi driver. Picture, licence number, accessible GPS location and drivers rating.