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How Uber Takes Over a City

Posted by timothy on from the taking-the-offensive dept.

schwit1 suggests Bloomberg's story on one aspect of Uber's corporate behavior that may leave a sour taste in the mouth of anyone who'd like to believe the Uber-vs.-the-Cartels narrative. The company hired David Plouffe, known for managing Barack Obama's rise to fame, and many others as well, to help them navigate inevitable and ongoing moves for regulation. The scale is impressive; according to the article: Over the past year, Uber built one of the largest and most successful lobbying forces in the country, with a presence in almost every statehouse. It has 250 lobbyists and 29 lobbying firms registered in capitols around the nation, at least a third more than Wal-Mart Stores. That doesn't count municipal lobbyists. In Portland, the 28th-largest city in the U.S., 10 people would ultimately register to lobby on Uber's behalf. And while the article focuses mostly on the example of Portland, the effort is ongoing and nationwide.

4 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. Bullshit narrative ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The Uber vs the Evil Cartels has always been a pile of shit, designed to appeal to a certain kind of idiot who will drool all over it ... but it's a lie, and it's always been a lie.

    It's systematically ignoring laws and regulations while going "wah wah, we're teh underdogs".

    Nothing could be further from the truth.

    Uber are just a bunch of self entitled douchebags, with a lot of backing who throw temper tantrums to insist they be allowed to not be covered under laws.

    Fuck Uber.

    1. Re:Bullshit narrative ... by king+neckbeard · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Uber being self-entitled douchebags doesn't preclude evil cartels.

      --
      This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    2. Re: Bullshit narrative ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It's the laws that are bullshit. Look at what kind of service Uber facilitates. How is it that only now anyone is introducing a reputation system to this industry? How is it that only now the barrier of entry to this industry is coming down? What exactly does a stringently controlled supply of government-licensed "taxi" drivers do for the consumer anyway?

      The free market can only produce generally beneficial results when certain conditions are in place, one of the most important of which being the lack of asymmetry of information between customer and supplier. For example, in the restaurant trade customers can judge the service, prices and food quality for themselves and can decide whether the bargain is acceptable. Customers cannot really judge the food safety, due to a lack of opportunity (and prospective customers traipsing through the kitchen might be a hazard in itself), a lack of expertise in microbiology and the "contract-forming cost" of having to do a complete investigation each time before sitting down and eating. Therefore most jurisdictions have laws for government hygiene inspections but not for setting food prices.

      With taxi hire, it is difficult for the consumer to learn many key things about the prospective bargain, such as the competence and record of the driver, the maintenance record of the car and the availability of insurance should there be an accident. It is not efficient for each consumer who wants a ride to summon a taxis/Uber and do in-depth checks on the car and driver, even assuming the consumer has suitable skills in car maintenance, insurance underwriting etc. Plus, the consumer would have to be prepared to repeatedly dismiss low-quality ride offers and wait for a new candidate to turn up. It's not plausible. The free market doesn't work when there are persistent information asymmetries that are expensive (relative to the basic cost) or difficult to overcome. The result is that the low quality businesses drive out the high quality business, because the higher quality businesses can't prove themselves as such to justify a higher price. They can't prove they aren't just boasting.

  2. Re:Damn you Uber by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In many parts of the world taxis are private vehicles with a sign stuck on top, drivers hold their own licenses and companies act as advertising agencies and dispatchers. A recent trend is for one driver to join a company then keep their car running 24-7 as their buddies illegally act as taxi drivers in shifts, splitting the profits. This is an actual thing. Whether or not it's predominantly immigrants, illegal or otherwise, is another question mind you.