Re:Uber, Maker of Summon-a-Car App, Wins in Washington
by jessriedel on Wednesday July 11, 2012 @09:09AM
(#4229043)
It's worth pointing out that many commentors in the last thread on this case justified the historic price regulation of cabs by municipalities based mostly off safety issues, and often said that it was reasonable for the government to continue to so regulate even when technology disrupted the industry:
But the city council gets some angry emails from constituents about blocking Uber and what do they do? Remove the minimum prices requirements without any compensating changes to the safety regulations. (Presumably, Uber cabs already satisfy the safety rules for dispatched sedans.)
So, whatever you think about cab regulation in the abstract, I think this is good evidence that the mechanism for how the government actually makes regulatory decisions bares no relation to abstract arguments. The government officials are just human beings responding to their various incentives.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4221589
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4221844
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4221747
But the city council gets some angry emails from constituents about blocking Uber and what do they do? Remove the minimum prices requirements without any compensating changes to the safety regulations. (Presumably, Uber cabs already satisfy the safety rules for dispatched sedans.)
So, whatever you think about cab regulation in the abstract, I think this is good evidence that the mechanism for how the government actually makes regulatory decisions bares no relation to abstract arguments. The government officials are just human beings responding to their various incentives.