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Online Carpooling Service Fined In Canada
TechDirt is reporting on a disappointing development out of Canada. An Ontario transportation board has fined PickupPal, a Web-based service for arranging carpools, because a local bus company complained of the competition. (TechCrunch apparently first broke the story.) "[The transportation board has] established a bunch of draconian rules that any user in Ontario must follow if it uses the service — including no crossing of municipal boundaries — meaning the service is only good within any particular city's limits. It's better than being shut down completely, and the service can still operate elsewhere around the world, but this is yet another case where we see regulations, that are supposedly put in place to improve things for consumers, do the exact opposite."
They ride moose up there. They're bigger.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
Oh, there we go again, conservatives crying about the need for deregulation. Poppycock, I say! I say the problem is a lack of regulation! Heap more regulations on top of the pile until it's all fixed, I say! It's a good thing PickupPal got stopped doing their illegal and immoral business practices. Someone has to stand up for the consumers, primarily those of the local bus company.
It's my car and I'd much prefer to do with it what I'd please- I see absolutely no reason the government has any say in this!!
Haven't you heard? Government = Democracy = We The People = We Can Tell You What To Do. Really, why do you conservative blowhards need to kick and scream every time Leviathan tells you, "No, You Can't, For The Greater Good?" You live in a complex society with complex interpersonal interactions, by living in our System you surrender your rights and dignity for the collective so you can live happily and freely. So what if the masses don't understand the implications and issues they vote upon the great deal of the time? At least we live in a marketplace of ideas, which I can tell you is a much better marketplace than the oppressive one with money and goods and slave wages.
We call them "Mounties", in a delicious pun.
How coïncidental, there's an open jobposition for the local gay-insult-man here in Canada.
We're offering you this position, with a competitive wage.
All expenses for your travel and stay are ofcourse compensated for.
Eagerly anticipating your arrival...
I think we can keep recursing like this until someone returns 1
"The transportation board's worry is that there will be a bunch of amateur, unregulated bus/cab drivers running around."
That makes sense. You wouldn't want the bus drivers to have to share the road with a bunch of untrained amateur drives on the road.
Oh...wait....
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
...everything is up for voting upon in a democracy, and people tend to view those that have more as not fairly sharing the wealth or not giving them what they deserve. Which is why I'm in favor of "Equal Access" legislation that requires supermodels to go on just as many dates with homely computer geeks as they do with handsome movie actors and pop stars. I'm calling it the "Cowboy Neal Dating Fairness Act of 2008". I hope you will all support me in insuring this bill becomes law!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
I have mod points, but strangely, see no "-1 Possibly Drunk" option...
"The best argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter."
- Winston Churchill
Apparently driving is like sex in Canada.
The bus is like a strip club. Everyone gets together for legally sanctioned transportation, but none of the customers get to drive, and it's not as much fun as a real car ride.
In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
More like - yep, that's a government worker alright !
[Citation needed]