

Boston Cab Dispatch queues up to sue Uber - ilamont
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2013/03/11/boston-cab-uber-lawsuit-coming-today.html

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didgeoridoo
Ever tried to order a cab in Boston/Cambridge? I've missed two early-morning
(i.e. before the subway starts running) flights because the cab I arranged 48
hours ahead of time never showed up, apparently because they didn't feel like
it. Uber isn't "unfairly" replacing a functioning taxi service in Boston.
They're simply the only game in town if you actually need to get somewhere.

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apaprocki
I am often at MIT and after being burned a few times I completely switched to
Uber for all my travel there and it has been nothing short of awesome.

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impostervt
How does Uber compare, price-wise, with taxis?

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apaprocki
I've personally used the black car option more than the taxi option so as you
would expect, always more. Most rides I took were ~$15-20 Cambridge-Back Bay.
For business travel there I'm considering reliability and consistency as worth
the extra $.

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UnoriginalGuy
Why are "black cars" more? What is the difference?

I just assumed a black car was just a taxi that was unlicensed with the city
(so couldn't legally call its self a taxi).

Also $15-20 is insanely cheap. I took a black taxi in London, less than 30
minutes (20 of which was traffic), $55.

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jonknee
A black car in US usage usually means a Lincoln Town car or similar, basically
a non-stretch limo. Uber has several classes, including Hybrid (cheaper) and
SUV (more expensive).

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UnoriginalGuy
I love how the US claims to be the home of capitalism but yet to the casual
observer lack of government intervention seems to result in a /less/
competitive capitalist market.

For example, two or three broadband providers, two or three cable providers,
one or two taxi companies, three large cellular operators, just a small
handful of insurers, one children's toys company, etc.

Seems like the US's capitalist model is great for big corporations or whoever
the incumbent is but terrible for real grass roots competition. You want to go
out and start a new business today there are simply tons of sectors you cannot
compete in at all.

Technology has been largely immune to this but patents have crashed that party
and with trolls everywhere a lot of smaller businesses are shutting their
doors when threatened.

The US seriously needs to up its game. They need to say "no" to corporate
money and actually encourage/force competition. This is why the US is losing
its competitive edge to China.

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ghc
I think you're getting the wrong idea about this. These Taxi companies (of
which there are many in Boston, not one or two) want to sue precisely because
they have something like a government-granted monopoly. The problem here _is_
government intervention, not lack of it. Taxi medallions are worth about $500k
in Boston because the city limits the number of taxis and has outlawed Taxi
companies from other cities picking up passengers.

How's that for lack of government intervention? If there was no government
intervention here Uber would be free to do its thing. But thanks to the Boston
government the taxi rates are high and there are never enough taxis to serve
everyone.

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UnoriginalGuy
Is it though? I mean Boston city aren't the one doing the suing here. It is
the large private companies who are being beaten at their own game.

Plus as other posters said elsewhere, a lot of private taxi companies actually
intentionally push for rules which protect their market. So they're
essentially buying off local politicians who then pass rules so smaller
business cannot join in for "public safety" or similar.

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nawitus
Lobbying to pass off regulation is the ultimate form of capitalism.

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apineda
That is crony-capitalism. Capitalism without government
intervention/regulation = free market. Of course I will always advocate for
private property protections etc. base protections.

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Jgrubb
It's fucking unbelievable to me in 2013 that there are still so many
businesses who just don't get it. Y'know your profitable 20th century business
model? The internet is coming for it, and you can either get on board or you
can get crushed out of existence.

I just can't fathom why these idiot cab companies wouldn't just copy the
service that Uber provides, which is a really basic idea nowadays.

Build an app that summons _your_ cab. Problem solved. Competitor thwarted.
Stop trying to hide behind lawsuits or you'll end up just like these sad sacks
in the music business.

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impostervt
From what I've read, the taxi companies are mad that Uber's cars are acting as
taxi's, but aren't paying the upfront cost to get a medallion, use a meter,
that sort of thing. It's not the app that is causing problem, it's the unfair
playing field.

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crusso
That information is in TFA, but you have to click over to the second page of
it to read it. That pisses me off just as much as the taxi companies using
protectionist tactics to protect their outdated business model.

Decisions to bury important information like the legal reasons of why the taxi
companies are suing is why I think that most media companies are fundamentally
broken.

I'm no student of journalism, but shouldn't best practice include guidelines
like: "Make the best case for every side of an argument as soon as possible in
an article. Do not bury important points that could be made early on in order
to force the reader to turn the page or give the impression that one side is
being favored."

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mysterywhiteboy
Paragraph 4 on the first page:

"The taxi company argues Uber operates a taxi service without bothering with
any of the rules and regulations that govern the industry."

I too hate the page breaks in order to get more eyes on more adds - but this
article seems fairly balanced to me.

~~~
crusso
Granted, they put that vague line in there on the first page, but really all
of the meat that made the taxi companies look like greedy corporatists
protecting their turf was on the first page.

I still think that slanting articles - whether it's to get ad views or whether
it's to express the bias of the reporter/publication is highly unethical and
should be called out wherever possible.

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zero_intp
While I am all for internet enabled disruption, what about the local laws that
Uber and other IP/Mobile-web services do not follow?

Private sedan services are still limited by the local cities regulations, and
this is not a bad thing. Localities deserve the rights to regulate themselves.

Where we obviously get into mud, is where the local commercial establishment
thinks it's income is a prerogative of participating.

Local regulations worth adhering to, that do not break contract law: What
about maximum fares? What about legislated accuracy of meter/GPS for billing?
What about posted signs for reasonable health precautions, like smoking? like
the local licensing board for complaints (oh wait you don't have licenses....)

Not that I am establishmentarian, but it is completely unreasonable for a
market disrupting services to NOT follow local regulations for said given
commercial activity.

That being said, one does not have to be a big business to be able to give a
random a ride. However, cabs of today are shaped and outfitted with specific
hardware for obvious reasons.

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dpatru
The purpose of government is to preserve liberty. For example, government
should protect citizens from mafia-style extortion where people are forced to
pay protection money in order to practice a certain occupation. But when
government becomes the mafia, when it extorts money from people in who want to
practice an occupation, as it does with taxi services in boston, then
government is acting illegitimately.

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intended
This isn't an answer to the question though, if anything its a gross over
simplification of the role of government.

Incidentally, iirc the mafia used to be interested in cab companies, since it
gave them access to controlling unions and a lucrative cash based economic
niche.

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hzy
When the established industry starts suing you, you know that they're starting
to become scared of your disruption.

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impostervt
Or they're pissed that they're playing by the rules and you are not.

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lostnet
Well, they spent a lot of money buying the rules.

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zero_intp
My brother was driving his beater as an unlicenced hack in Baltimore for a
year. I observed a number of issues.

I think a barrier between the passenger and the cabbie is generally good.

I think a meter system or a zone system that is externally verifiable is
better than some dude's cell phone.

After you spend 40-60 hours in one week schlepping people in your un-designed
hack, an understanding will form of why modern cabs have fairly universal
accoutrements.

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lostnet
Greater Boston is mostly non-barrier cabs, but I don't recall the specifics
for Boston proper vs Cambridge, etc.

I was referring to the idea that the medallion in Boston is a safety feature
rather than a monopoly piece.

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Semaphor
I guess the US (or at least Boston) has nothing like "Mietwagen mit Fahrer"
[1] (German for "rental car with driver", usually called "Funkmietwagen",
something like "radio called rental car") as that seems pretty much what Uber
is doing here?

We have Taxis that are official and thus are allowed to drive on special
roads, can wait for customers in public places and have a big Taxi sign. They
are usually more expensive.

The "Funkmietwagen" are only allowed to drive where everyone else is allowed
to drive, they can't wait for customers and can only be called by calling
their central number and they don't have the sign. As they are less regulated
and don't have to pay for being a taxi, they are usually cheaper.

The only major requirement for Funkmietwagen is the "Führerschein zur
Fahrgastbeförderung" [2] (license for transporting passengers).

(both links in German)

[1]
[http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mietwagen_mit_Fahrer_%28Deutsch...](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mietwagen_mit_Fahrer_%28Deutschland%29)

[2]
[http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BChrerschein_zur_Fahrgastb...](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BChrerschein_zur_Fahrgastbef%C3%B6rderung)

