[–] MCVoat 2 points 48 points 50 points (+50|-2) ago
Uber destroyed my business
No, you did when you failed to adapt to a changing market and give customers what they want.
For decades cab companies have been screwing over their customers AND their employees and suddenly competition comes along that wants to offer customers a better experience. That's how capitalism works. So sad to see these neanderthals beating up Uber drivers just because they offer a better product.
What does this say for innovation in America? Better not try and improve on a service because the companies that are already in business will burn you down or complain to the government until you're gone. We don't improve anything that way. Young entrepreneurs will second guess going into business for themselves.
[–] RabidRaccoon 1 point 12 points 13 points (+13|-1) ago
I do sympathise with the taxi drivers to some extent. They paid money for a medallion because that was the only way they could operate. However that doesn't mean they're allowed to stop Uber.
[–] White_Raven 1 point 19 points 20 points (+20|-1) ago
You sympathize with people for buying something they lobbied to make requirement that now puts them at a massive disadvantage because that thing they lobbied to have made mandatory is also expensive as fuck and so they cannot compete which was the intention of the thing that they wanted?
[–] Yollasho 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
Not all of them pay for a medallion. Many PAY the taxi company to be allowed to drive for the company...sort of like renting a license I guess.
One guy in Boston owns 21% of the medallions. I'm sure he's just rolling while all his drivers are broke as fuck paying him out the ass just to be able to drive. What a scheme.
[–] neverending_strife 0 points 9 points 9 points (+9|-0) ago
If Uber destroyed their business, why not just drive for Uber? Problem solved!
[–] hypercat 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
The fact that JUST recently cabs take cards blows my mind. They were cash only and now a few of them take cards. I MADE my cab driver (who is independent and owns 2 cars) take Square the second it came out (Known him for years). He gets more fares just by that little sign that says "VISA/MC" than any ad or app. He also uses flywheel and a few other modern apps. They are the dinosaurs of transportation.
[–] RabidRaccoon 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
Classic example of a producer lobby. It's also pretty telling that other strikes have 'devolved into ugly violence'. The medallion owners were granted a monopoly and Uber and Lyft have challenged that. Really the only way they can stop the challenge is violence. However the real problem isn't Uber it's the fact that medallion owners have a monopoly on taxis.
[–] TheVillain61 1 point 1 point 2 points (+2|-1) ago
During the Sydney seige in Australia uber drivers put their prices up, they also did this during the London underground saga where trains weren't running. Ubers reply was that demand drives up prices so this is a taste of things to come. Uber bosses will make plenty of money charging their drivers 20% but their drivers will struggle to make money not to mention that uber refused to acknowledge one of their drivers that killed someone was actually an employee and said they were contracted. I'd be concerned that uber drivers are not regulated nor adequately insured nor have correct knowledge of areas.
[–] jardeon 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I thought price surges were set by Uber corporate, not the individual drivers. While it's unfortunate that as a whole, Uber turns to profiteering during a "bad" event, it's not on the individual drivers to set the rates or surge prices, they just follow the app and pick up the passengers.
[–] Chew_Monster 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Exactly what I was thinking. The guy for a cab group had this to say:
“We just think a work stoppage at this point would be counterproductive to the progress we’ve been making with legislators and regulators across the state,” said Steve Regan
Really he meant, if they learn to use Uber they will never return!
[–] Zaqwert 0 points 11 points 11 points (+11|-0) ago
“We have to show the city officials that what they’re doing is not right,” said Rene Flerime, an independent cab driver and medallion owner in Cambridge who helped organize the action. “Uber and Lyft destroyed my business.”
Flerime and other drivers say Uber has cut deeply into their revenues.
BOO HOO, my business has competition, it's not fair!
[–] [deleted] ago
[–] pepepepepe ago
If you receive full-time employment benefits then you are entitled to work full-time. At that point you might as well be a traditional cab driver. You are expected to be there day in and day out. If you want to stop working for them you are expected to put in notice and allow them time to hire someone else.
Services like Uber automate the ability of two people to form a private transaction. It's different from punching a clock. Someone could work 80 hours one week and 5 the next. They're not expected or entitled to work, they enter and exit a market at will. Are you going to give them benefits during weeks they work full time and then revoke them weeks they don't? It just wouldn't make sense. Contracting is a trade-off. Some people are comfortable with punching a clock and like the benefits that come with it, others want flexibility and are fine having to bankroll their own supplies.
Even of I accept everything above as gospel you know what would be great? Let the market decide if Uber and Lyft would survive.
If enough employees feel treated like crap the neither company will have enough drivers and they will fail. And if too many customers are uncomfortable with the lack of a medallion, or background checks, or driver training then they will not have enough business and they will fail.
But I much prefer if they fail either of those ways as opposed to a bunch of people who had a buggy whip monopoly and are pissed because someone figured out a way to compete with them.
And I also love the instinctive response of most who are sympathetic to the taxi drivers.
"This isn't fair, we need to put more regulations on them."
I always wonder why they never say "this isn't fair, let's remove some of the regulations from taxis."
[–] lostmydisk ago
Given the cost of a medallion are the independent cab owners just SOL? Seems like an incredible uphill battle to both cover higher insurance costs and make repayments toward buying their medallion. I don't see how cabs exist in the future without some large sweeping government ruling that cripples uber, lyft, and others like them.
[–] SiWofos 0 points 24 points 24 points (+24|-0) ago
This is a visible part of the process of the de-skilling and automating of various sectors of the economy. Taxi driving was a highly skilled job, with the most highly trained drivers having noticeably different brain structures from the general population (i.e., enlarged hippocampus). Automation is inevitable (particularly of auto-mobiles: GPS is just the beginning of the end of the taxi driver). It's a tool to produce abundance (here taxi rides) for little effort (or much lower cost). We need to start thinking now about what to do when large sections of the population are unemployable (or employable at only a much lower level) -- through no fault of their own.
More broadly, we're heading toward a future where, for most jobs, Humans Need Not Apply.
[–] Ragnar1234 4 points 10 points 14 points (+14|-4) ago
Driving a taxi has never been a "highly skilled job." Heart surgeon, CPA, and master electrician are examples of highly skilled jobs that require years of training and certification.
I agree with you that automation will continue to improve productivity and remove the need for humans at many menial tasks. I disagree with you on the idea that large sections of the population will be unemployed against their will. Humans are one of the most adaptable species on the planet and I have faith that they will be able to continue to adapt to the ever changing labor market as automation continues to rollout. It most certainly will have periods of time when people are making the initial transition that will be difficult and uncomfortable for many, but as a whole humans will continue to adapt and overcome their surroundings.
[–] SiWofos 0 points 13 points 13 points (+13|-0) ago
I wouldn't be so dismissive: London cab drivers must learn routes all over the city during 34 months of training, and then must pass a series of tests. They have a very specialized skill, the constant practice of which (as I said above) actually alters their brain structure.
However, all this skill and training are now practically worthless in the face of GPS. That represents a tough transition for the old-school drivers. The cheaper fares of uber come at a cost of replacing these well trained, skilled, highly paid people by lower-paid but better-equipped drivers with smart phones.
Making people poorer for the sake of cheap things for everyone is something that I feel uneasy about, despite it being the accepted path of "progress".
By the way, did you watch the video I linked (Humans Need Not Apply)? It articulates very well the point I'm trying to make.
[–] pepepepepe 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
I'm sick of this automation doomsday scare mongering. When human labor demand is removed by automation they can be re-purposed elsewhere. It's not going to eat away at all our labor markets until we're all jobless. People will develop some new idea that needs a new labor market, people will come flooding in, efficiency will improve, and automation edges humans out. Until robots are superior in every way to humans and we reach a post-scarcity society there is no need to drastically alter our economics.
[–] Br0k3nsn0fl6k32 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
I think you mean "highly specialized", otherwise agree 100% with your writing.
[–] TheBeesTrees ago
We'd better start accepting that hateful word "socialism" before too long here. Otherwise we're going to have 95% of the human population squatting on the 5%'s robotic spa's and solar array suites.
[–] itshappening- ago
There is nothing to do... It's musical chairs. Since the 1970's there have been various attempts at adding more chairs, but the store room is out of chairs and the music is so worn the record is starting to skip. Better leave the dance before they turn off the lights.