

DC Uber Amendment Shelved - esonderegger
http://dcist.com/2012/07/cheh_shelves_uber_amendment_after_b.php

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guelo
Sounds like Uber was up to shenanigans when they whipped up the internet rage
machine. There was some conversation going on between Uber and Cheh, I don't
think we're getting the full story here.

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SatvikBeri
Both Uber and Cheh say that there was some conversation. Cheh claims that Uber
endorsed the $15 minimum, Uber says they never endorsed any sort of price-
fixing.

Given that this amendment would have severely hurt Uber, I'm definitely
inclined to believe them over Cheh on this.

~~~
jbooth
It sounds from the article like Uber had a $15 minimum already. Now they're
dropping it to $12, in "apparent defiance".

Looks like 'earned media' to me, free mentions in the press for throwing a
fit.

~~~
dljsjr
The thing is that the $15 minimum would have applied to all of the services
that Uber offers, not just their town cars. This would have an impact on the
rollout of UberX to the area, which has a minimum fare of $10.

<http://blog.uber.com/2012/07/03/sf-vehicle-choice/>

~~~
twelve45
Exactly. This was an attack on the new "Uber X" service which will more
directly compete with regular cabs. (Frankly the only reason I even take cabs
anymore is the cost of the regular Uber service.)

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JPKab
As an Uber rider in the DC area, I'm so happy this was defeated. It's a great
service, and I think it will really end up benefiting taxi drivers at the
expense of the taxi dispatch offices, which are terrible at their job due to
their practice of dispatching drivers based on kickbacks rather than proximity
to pick up.

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jacoblyles
It's nice to win the battle, but the war of over regulation and crony
capitalism is far from over. We need to elect representatives that understand
that markets work, that change is good, and that not every existing interest
should be protected by the government for eternity.

~~~
noarchy
I cheer for that possibility, but the outlook is gloomy. The taxi industry is
so heavily regulated in many major cities, that they might as well make the
drivers government employees. The supply of medallions/plates are very limited
(drivers don't even own the car, in many cases, having to lease from one of
the cartel members that have a medallion), and they often can't set their own
fares. It has to be one of the least-free markets in North America.

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ChuckMcM
Ah representative government in action, gotta love it.

~~~
eli
The issue is that DC taxi drivers are actually a relatively important voting
bloc. (I wish the DC Tech scene could get political support like that.)

But it's also a bad time to go around picking fights. Support for local
government is pretty low. _Two_ DC Council members have been forced out of
office in as many months due to legal problems (and, remarkably, neither of
them was Marion Barry). Just this morning I heard on the radio that one of the
mayor's aides was indicted for campaign finance fraud.

~~~
ChuckMcM
100% agree, the cab drivers want their legislation, Uber and the livery
services want theirs, people talk, people argue, stories are presented,
arguments are made, elected representatives weigh personal gain against public
good against prior commitments. Its an amazingly convoluted interconnected and
jumbled system, but when everyone is engaged its also rather beautiful.

~~~
Nrsolis
Uh, I used to live in the DC area so take this comment in that spirit:

The Local DC City government is one of the most dysfunctional, corrupt, and
ineffective local governments of a large metropolitan area. There is nothing
pretty about how "governing" gets done in DC.

Go take a taxi ride in DC and tell me about your experience. For grins, try
and get a LEGAL taxi ride from Union Station at 2am that conforms to the taxi
regulations. For bigger grins, try and get some action/resolution to the
blatantly illegal behavior of taxi drivers from the Taxi Commission that was
the subject of this whole effort.

In DC, you really can't do better than the Taxi Commission as an example of
regulatory capture.

~~~
ChuckMcM
I am aware as they say. I used to play a game with my kids (invented by a
friend of mine) where we replaced the phrase 'The Government' with 'my
neighbor', and 'our Government' with 'We'. We used to joke you get out of your
government what you put in.

So if your local government is corrupt and dysfunctional, then you don't have
the best folks in place so you need to replace them. And replacing them
requires that the community to engage. Its actually easier at the local level
than the national level, and the national level draws from the local level.

What most people don't understand is that you can often volunteer at your
local government. You can be on commissions or focus groups or elsewhere. If
you have the time it can be worthwhile, and with the right attitude,
enjoyable. Don't try to fix everything at once, but just start making things
better. The change can be remarkable, one person doing a standup job for
'free' can be a powerful motivation for a lot of people around them.

~~~
Nrsolis
SO...

We actually did try to fix the local government. We put Adrian Fenty in office
and gave him free reign to get DC government working _properly_.

Of course, when he tried to fix public education (via Michelle Rhee) he ran
smack into the buzzsaw that was the teachers union that steadfastly refused to
take any responsibility for _actually_ teaching students. Now we have another
set of bought-and-paid-for charlatans. Just like they want.

And there's the rub really: if you come into government and try to actually
change things, you're going to upset an entire class of people that benefit
from things staying exactly as they are. In many cases, they outnumber you.
They are organized around protecting the status quo.

The idea that a single person can mobilize to change things is quaint but
RARELY how you get real change. It takes a sustained effort, over many many
years to change ANYTHING in government.

As an example, only RECENTLY did they get actual METERS in the cabs in DC.
Think about that. It took something like 10 years from start to finish to
legislate meters in the taxis. When I was there, there was a minor scandal
surounding taxi drivers bribing the vehicle inspectors with $100 bills in the
ashtrays to pass the vehicles. Think about that. We had criminals serving on
the police force. It's an entire city built on giving city jobs to people who
vote in your candidate.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is just a fantasy.

~~~
ChuckMcM
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is just a fantasy."

Actually its just a movie.

You can't "fix the local government by putting <insert person> into office."
You need a 25 year plan to 'fix' your local government if it is that out of
whack. There is a reason the US Constitution doesn't start with "Me, the smart
guy in the room, in order to form a more perfect Union ..."

This: "It took something like 10 years from start to finish to legislate
meters in the taxis."

Yes, it takes commitment, time, and consistent effort. It takes leaders and it
takes workers. It takes years of educating people to the need and getting
their support. But it can be done.

~~~
Nrsolis
OR...you can do what I did and leave. Score one for individual liberty.

At some point, it makes sense for a person to cut their losses and move
somewhere where like minded people have already learned that responsible
government starts with a responsible population.

Which brings me to my last point on the subject: all of the entrenched
interests in the city of DC are there because they enjoy and support the
current system. Nevermind that it's completely dysfunctional and doesn't serve
the residents. It serves their perverted needs and they'll fight tooth and
nail to keep it that way.

Ever wonder how Marion Barry got re-elected to the city council despite a
conviction for smoking crack and YEARS of tax shenanigans that threatened to
put him back in jail? At some point, you look around and realize that you're
the only one in the room that wants change.

~~~
oinksoft
About Marion Barry ... he's corrupt, so are most big city politicians. But (1)
nobody in the Ward 8 cares about a rock cocaine offense decades ago (cocaine
has been such a big problem in that part of the city, it's likely every voter
has has been close to an addict or otherwise touched since the early 80's),
and (2) the other stuff about personal tax cheating, getting busted with weed,
etc. is just water under the bridge to most Ward 8 voters.

At the end of the day, none of those things (apart from the expected
corruption) affect how Barry does his job. And the voters in Ward 8, far and
away the poorest part of the city, know that when the shit hits the fan, Barry
looks out for those who usually don't have much of a voice in DC.

While Ward 3 residents were patting Fenty on the back for putting up bicycle
lanes and dog parks, the Ward 8 voters were pissed to see a mayor basically
pandering to the wealthy voters and screwing the poor. These are the same
voters who voted for Gray and his crony, corrupt administration in the last
mayoral election. They know very well that Rhee's "No Child Left Behind"-style
reforms were just going to screw up the school system worse for their kids.

And they sure as hell didn't want to re-elect Fenty, who never showed that he
was willing to work on the tough problems that cause DC's entrenched poverty.
The Fenty approach to poverty (which was really Anthony Williams' approach on
steroids) was to price out the poor folk until they have to move to some hole
like Temple Hills or Capitol Heights, no longer being DC's problem.

~~~
Nrsolis
You're right. We probably shouldn't hold our public servants to a higher
standard than the general populace. It's not like we need our leaders to
establish trust with other leaders and work towards solving real issues.

And as a somewhat wealthy individual, I was happy to see a government that was
being operated with some real accountability by trustworthy and capable
individuals.

But hey, don't worry...I'm sure that all DC needs is more Marion Barry to
solve the poverty problem. Or Vincent Gray.

[http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/gray-
donor-a...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/gray-donor-admits-
to-scheme-to-funnel-illegal-campaign-
contributions/2012/07/10/gJQA0b5DbW_story.html?hpid=z2)

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compsciphd
what I'm surprised about is that travelling in a lincoln town car is
considered luxurious! This is the standard livery cab service in NYC (which is
used a lot by people who aren't considered wealthy).

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dhyasama
I often hail livery (aka radio) cars in NYC. It's technically illegal for them
to pick up passengers that they weren't dispatched to pick up. I'm sure that
is a law put in place to protect medallion owners.

As an aside, there are different schools of thought for how to pay radio cars
since they don't have meters. A friend always waits until getting dropped off
to negotiate price. He figures he holds the power at that point since he is
already at his destination. I always ask how much before getting in. My
girlfriend just hands them money when she gets out, whatever she thinks is
fair, and has never had anyone give her a hard time.

EDIT: I should add that all three of us find the cost of the radio cars to be
about the same as yellow cabs. Our different negotiating techniques don't
really make a difference.

~~~
keithpeter
Disclaimer: UK specific information here

You are not insured in a radio car unless the trip was booked. Yes, I stand
next to the car and phone in, just in case. The drivers are cool with that.

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wavephorm
Washington DC politicians are exposed as corrupt public figureheads
representing a government-protected cartel of incumbent corporations? And this
is news to some people?

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tomjen3
For now. They will no doubt try again tomorrow.

On a personal note, shit like this is why I hate society.

