Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
No doubt that Uber gains a competitive advantage by disregarding laws or engaging in regulatory arbitrage. No doubt that taxi regulation in many (most?) places is an example of regulatory capture, designed more to protect medallion-owners' investments than serve the public. It is also worth noting that Uber uses recent technology to provide services more efficiently than prior business models, and that this could confer substantial benefits on the public.
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I agree with your latter point completely. But for the medallion system, Uber or something like it could have sought to work within the existing system, essentially providing a software package that would enable taxis to better serve customers, and charging them for it. In other words, they could have been like OpenTable. But the medallion system, and the fact that rides are a commodity while restaurant meals are not, prevented this or made it vastly less attractive.
I think the Uber technology focus would make it very difficult to impose wage-and-hour laws on them. There isn't really a difference between an Uber driver and me agreeing to give someone a ride if they pay me -- it's just that the Uber driver uses (and pays for) some technology as part of offering that service.
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