This op-ed by Matthew Mitchell and Michael Farren in the Sunday Los Angeles Times shows that maybe history does repeat itself. If you like Uber, you would've loved the jitney - Los Angeles Times: It sounds like the resistance that ride-sharing services Uber, Lyft and Sidecar apps are getting is very similar to the resistance that the Jitney services received 100 years ago that killed off those services. --They were regulated out of existence!
Like the Jitney services, these ride-sharing services are popular with the users. However the competition for those businesses used the government and regulation to kill off the competition so they could continue to have a monopoly.
The main opposition to Uber, Lyft and Sidecar is obviously coming from the cab companies who have a very tight relationship with most of the governing bodies. They make huge donations to politicians who support them and spend heavy on lobbying. They also arrange to pay extra taxes to the City, so eventually the cities depend upon that revenue. Regulation of cab companies is also somewhat corrupt. For example it appears that cabs get higher rates for pick-ups at airports, even though airport pickups are probably the easiest for them to do, since they have lots of drop-offs and pickups at the same spot. The enlightened regulators also go out of their way to restrict competition at the airport to allow the cab companies to gouge even more. It seems to me that regulators would try to force the companies to discount rates at airports so cab companies would work harder to provide service to less popular areas --but political graft and city profit generally cloud their judgment.
I sympathize with cab drivers situation. Their job is difficult, lonely and frustrating. However, because of monopoly pricing, their companies have not adopted the latest technology. Because of that, in general cabs and drivers are not employed in an optimally efficient manner. Some cabbies can wait in cab lines for hours for a fare. A terrible waste of labor and equipment! It appears that in just a few years, we may have "driverless cabs" so the issue may be moot. Cab driver jobs may be phased out and allow that large section of the labor force to be redeployed to jobs that are more productive for society. Of course that may require more education, training and opportunities.
Like the Jitney services, these ride-sharing services are popular with the users. However the competition for those businesses used the government and regulation to kill off the competition so they could continue to have a monopoly.
The main opposition to Uber, Lyft and Sidecar is obviously coming from the cab companies who have a very tight relationship with most of the governing bodies. They make huge donations to politicians who support them and spend heavy on lobbying. They also arrange to pay extra taxes to the City, so eventually the cities depend upon that revenue. Regulation of cab companies is also somewhat corrupt. For example it appears that cabs get higher rates for pick-ups at airports, even though airport pickups are probably the easiest for them to do, since they have lots of drop-offs and pickups at the same spot. The enlightened regulators also go out of their way to restrict competition at the airport to allow the cab companies to gouge even more. It seems to me that regulators would try to force the companies to discount rates at airports so cab companies would work harder to provide service to less popular areas --but political graft and city profit generally cloud their judgment.
I sympathize with cab drivers situation. Their job is difficult, lonely and frustrating. However, because of monopoly pricing, their companies have not adopted the latest technology. Because of that, in general cabs and drivers are not employed in an optimally efficient manner. Some cabbies can wait in cab lines for hours for a fare. A terrible waste of labor and equipment! It appears that in just a few years, we may have "driverless cabs" so the issue may be moot. Cab driver jobs may be phased out and allow that large section of the labor force to be redeployed to jobs that are more productive for society. Of course that may require more education, training and opportunities.
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