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Re:For San Francisco Cab Drivers, Once-Treasured Medallions ... by unKlever on Friday September 25, 2015 @06:47PM (#10281178)
I think the parent was talking about supply side. I think you are totally correct but, I find myself not satisfied with the answer. All legitimate cab companies should puf money into hiring a company to build a sinple app to connect them to legal taxis. You pay, you get on the app. Tagline, "as convenient as uber, only legal".

It would be a hell of a lot cheaper than funding lawyers and lobbyists like they have been.

Re:For San Francisco Cab Drivers, Once-Treasured Medallions ... by austenallred on Friday September 25, 2015 @07:08PM (#10281267)
That's exactly the point though, it's the entire system that needs replacing. It's awfully hard to turn a ship around when it's as large as the taxi industry (with lobbies to boot).

Take one element of it - say the taxi companies said, "OK, you're now getting rated, and if you drop below 5 stars you lose your medallion." Drivers would lose their minds.

Imagine them saying, "Also, now your trips are going to cost 50% less" again, would not fly.

Or even, "You can use your own car, because that's way more efficient" (would never happen, because taxi drivers rent their cars for $40,000/month).

The taxi industry has done a hell of a lot to entrench itself and make itself irreplaceable, no matter how awful it is. In doing so, it has created a system completely resistant to change and innovation. The industry was ripe for someone to come along and replace it with a parallel system that was better and more efficient.

Re:For San Francisco Cab Drivers, Once-Treasured Medallions ... by eru on Saturday September 26, 2015 @05:29AM (#10282626)
> Or even, "You can use your own car, because that's way more efficient" (would never happen, because taxi drivers rent their cars for $40,000/month).

Where is that figure from?

Re:For San Francisco Cab Drivers, Once-Treasured Medallions ... by austenallred on Saturday September 26, 2015 @10:34AM (#10283190)
Whoops. Meant per year, of course, but http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234289
Re:For San Francisco Cab Drivers, Once-Treasured Medallions ... by ericflo on Friday September 25, 2015 @06:52PM (#10281198)
http://flywheel.com/ it's been around for quite a while and I remember seeing a ton of ads for them
Re:For San Francisco Cab Drivers, Once-Treasured Medallions ... by Kalium on Friday September 25, 2015 @07:09PM (#10281269)
The experience is terrible and cabbies still have all the perverse incentives that make people loathe them.