Re:Uber drops fares for SF Taxi strike
by wisty on Monday June 20, 2011 @09:10PM
(#2676940)
There's a difference between being anti-union, and anti-medallion. I like taxi drivers. It's not their fault they have to pay hundreds of thousands for a medallion, and work with a lot of overly strict rules.
AFAIK, these strict rules don't stop taxis from screwing over tourists, and occasionally assaulting customers. I'm pretty sure an Uber system would, as the bad eggs would be tracked down a lot easier.
If unions want to protest unsafe cars, or 14 hour shifts, or they want the right to refuse service to unruly customers, that's fine. It's not a simple matter of supply and demand. But unions shouldn't be locking other workers out.
Re:Uber drops fares for SF Taxi strike
by Aloisius on Monday June 20, 2011 @11:39PM
(#2677323)
I'm pretty sure they are actively campaigning against increasing the number of medallions, so yes... they are to blame for making it a scarce resource and therefore worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
AFAIK, these strict rules don't stop taxis from screwing over tourists, and occasionally assaulting customers. I'm pretty sure an Uber system would, as the bad eggs would be tracked down a lot easier.
If unions want to protest unsafe cars, or 14 hour shifts, or they want the right to refuse service to unruly customers, that's fine. It's not a simple matter of supply and demand. But unions shouldn't be locking other workers out.