"The benefits of free markets and the problems with government intervention are well illustrated by the unfolding story of smart phone-based car services such as Uber and Lyft. If we had free markets for city ride services….the preferred ride services—Uber and imitators—would thrive, and older, clumsier ways of connecting riders with cars would gradually disappear."
http://www.aei-ideas.org/2014/07/uberlyft-vs-taxis-let-the-market-decide-not-taxi-cartels-and-their-government-enablers-bureaucrats-and-legislators/ > On 7/9/2014 3:56 PM, Richard J. Williams wrote: > "The more riders Uber can get in its cars and accustomed to having its > push-button convenience as an option, the less incentive politicians > have to stay on Uber’s case. By drastically lowering its prices, Uber > is doing more than increasing its customer base. It’s cultivating > constituents — the people who will complain when someone in power > tries to take away their Uber." > > Uber’s Brilliant Strategy to Make Itself Too Big to Ban' > http://www.wired.com/2014/07/ubers-brilliant-strategy-to-make-itself-too-big-to-ban/ > > > > > On 7/9/2014 8:19 AM, Richard J. Williams wrote: >> Has anyone out there ever got a ride in a Uber or Lyft car? >> > >> On 6/13/2014 6:11 PM, Richard J. Williams wrote: >>> There's Uber and there is Lyft and in some large cities, Sidecar - I >>> call it Uber-Lyft. It's a new technology, not a taxi service. You >>> put an app on your mobile phone and get a ride from an privately >>> owned vehicle; it's a new way to get a ride without waiting for a >>> cab. The vehicles are the personal cars owned by the drivers. You >>> pay a little more but you get a ride faster. >>> >>> The driver uses their GPS to get you to your destination and you pay >>> with a credit card online. The cars are usually a lot nicer vehicles >>> too. In a taxi often you have to wait, sometimes a long time, and >>> the cars are most of the time - dumpy - it's like riding in a cage >>> with tacky advertisements stuck all over inside. And, sometimes you >>> have to wait over an to get a cab at a busy airport at certain times >>> of the day. >>> >>> Once, I drove a cab for awhile to make some extra cash, so I know a >>> little bit about it. Some contract drivers have to pay $75 a day to >>> the company and you have to drive for twelve hour shifts. You have >>> to pay for your own gasoline and pay the fee, even if you don't make >>> a profit - it works out to be less than minimum wage sometimes. Yes, >>> I drove a cab for a guy named Lloyd who owned over 100 Yellow Cabs >>> in Austin. One day when I returned the car for the next driver Lloyd >>> was sitting at his desk collecting cash and he quipped: "Money >>> talks, bullshit walks." Classic. >>> >>> In some places, like L.A., S.F. and New York City, there is a lot of >>> blow-back with some cars getting impounded and drivers being issued >>> tickets. Cab drivers are mad as hell about this. The problem with >>> the new technology is that I guess it doesn't allow enough room for >>> graft to city officials. Go figure. >>> >>> "Driver assaults and incomplete insurance may not be car service >>> apps’ biggest regulatory hurdles — it may be airports." >>> >>> 'California Threatens To Shut Down Uber, Lyft, Sidecar Over Airport >>> Rides' >>> http://tinyurl.com/nebyah6 >>> >> > ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ To subscribe, send a message to: fairfieldlife-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' ------------------------------------ Yahoo Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: fairfieldlife-dig...@yahoogroups.com fairfieldlife-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: fairfieldlife-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo Groups is subject to: https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/
