Uber Gives Up On New York Taxi Service

An anonymous reader writes "Uber, the startup behind a mobile app for connecting transportation services with people who need rides, has halted its efforts to partner with New York cab drivers. They've been fighting an uphill battle against regulators, who have warned drivers that they could face fines or loss of license if they worked with Uber. The company's CEO wrote, 'Demand far out-stripped supply, making you feel pretty lucky when you got a yellow from your iPhone. We did the best we could to get more yellows on the road but New York's TLC (Taxi and Limousine Commission) put up obstacles and roadblocks in order to squash the effort around e-hail, which they privately have said is legal under the rules. We'll bite our tongues and keep our frustration here to ourselves.'" Update: 10/17 00:48 GMT by S : Here's TLC's perspective, in the words of Commissioner David Yassky: "In recent months, as e-hail apps have emerged, TLC has undertaken serious diligence and is moving toward rule changes that will open the market to app developers and other innovators. Those changes cannot legally take place until our existing exclusive contracts expire in February. We are committed to making it as easy as possible to get a safe, legal ride in a New York City taxi, and are excited to see how emerging technology can improve that process. Our taxis have always been on the cutting edge of technological innovation, from GPS systems to credit card readers."

Comments

Just goes to show

[Scutter]

There's no efficiency improvement or human betterment that can't be completely destroyed by bureaucracy and greed.

Re:Just goes to show

[BlueStrat]

Just goes to show you that people forget their history.

Here's a clue about the history bureaucracy: Once upon a time it was considered to be the efficient way to better human society, the way that would remove obstructions yet prevent abuses.

Perception changes, huh?

You'd better check history again. Bureaucracy has always been a necessary evil that needs to be kept heavily restricted and overseen in it's power and budget, as like with governments as a whole, they always grow and expand over time, eventually causing collapse/chaos/tyranny if left unchecked.

The problem in the US is that we keep choosing to cede more and more power over ever more things and give larger and larger budgets to the bureaucracy to "fix it".

This is typically followed up, after it's evident that things didn't get fixed but got worse, with cries to cede even more power and give even larger budgets, because the reason for the failure to fix things was that the previous increases were not quite enough, we'll fix it this time, promise! Rinse and repeat.

Strat

Re:While I like the idea

[ThatsMyNick]

Nope. What we are asking for is to get rid of these stupid medallions (not right now, when the contracts or whatever expire). Create a real free market of taxi companies competing with each other. Atleast of them would ready embrace Uber.