You lent your money to an Icelandic bank because they were paying much higher interest rates than UK banks. You pays your money and you takes your chances.
They already had me when they let their banks go bankrupt for their own idiocy instead of having the population foot the bill.
They really had no choice. The banks losses were just so incredibly massive that they simply couldn't be bailed out, no matter how much they might have wanted to. $100 billion in losses, for a country of 325k people. Total net US bailouts have added up to about half that, for a country 1000x larger.
You might notice that Iceland is already on the rebound and out of the recession slump. We're not even in it yet.
Iceland's GDP is still 30% smaller than it was at the peak, while US GDP is 16% above pre-recession levels. Both are in current US$ for comparability.
"After having their nation's wealth raided by a collapse of British banks I suspect that the public feels a bit like a pirate seeking a bit of revenge."
Whaaa? It's the other way around - a bunch of Brits lost their deposits when ICELANDIC banks failed. Now, I don't have much sympathy for them, they put their money offshore to try to earn more interest, and that has risks, but the bad decisions that led the Icelandic banks to fail were 100% home grown.
Yeah, the big medallion holders (who hold most of the medallions) are definitely hurting.
This guy seems to be in default (apparently, he can't get drivers for his cabs, so they're not generating revenue - next logical step is to start discounting the lease):
I think the real concern with cab companies is the threat Uber is to the value of a medallion. If you've paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for a medallion, and are counting on it going up in value over time, anything that threatens that value must be crushed. If Uber were able to significantly dent cab demand in NYC and cab drivers decided to buy their own car to drive for Uber and not lease a cab, medallions would decline in value and people who have invested in them would lose serious money.
100% agree, and it looks like this is already happening.
What you do is call the taxi commission, the number of which is prominently displayed (by law), including in braille and raised letters, in the cab. Who do you call when Uber 'accidentaly' charges the wrong rate?
The TLC, which regulates Uber. In NYC, it's no different from any other black car service (and that includes UberX).
If the same economics drove it you'd see prices converge to cab prices.
Except that the operating costs for taxi drivers are heavily driven by the cost of the medallion (at least half of the per shift lease fee for an NYC taxi goes to generate a return to the medallion holder, not cover the purchase and maintenance cost of the vehicle). Uber takes that out of the equation, so that it's feasible to see drivers making more money working the same # of hours.
This used to be a serious problem in NYC, but I haven't had a driver try the "credit card machine is broken" scam on me in at least three or four years. They may try it on tourists, but NYCers have known for years that the law is clear - unless the driver informs you upfront that the credit card machine is broken (before he turns on the meter), then, if he refuses to take a credit card, the ride is free.
Huh? How can Uber drivers self-select out of short trips if they don't know where the trip is going? Also, the system doesn't work that was, as I understand it. Drivers hit the on duty button on the app, then they're available, until they hit off duty. If they get an assignment, they can in theory turn it down, but do that more than a few times, and you'll be dropped off the system.
OK, to clarify, then, in NYC UberX drivers _do_ have TLC licenses and TLC-plated cars. In the rest of the country, they don't (whether or not they're supposed to).
Just so folks know, UberX in NYC is unlike UberX in any other market, in that the cars are drivers are all licensed livery cars and drivers with TLC (Taxi and Limo Commission) commercial licenses and insurance. This is unlike the rest of the US, where UberX drivers and vehicles don't need commercial licenses and plates.
Only real difference between UberX and Uber Black in NYC is the quality of the car (usually Camrys or similar with UberX, and Town Cars or big SUVs with Uber Black).
Except that Uber drivers often DON'T know where the fare is going. They only know that if you enter it before pickup, and there's zero requirement that you do so.
You can just turn them off. Button's on the side or top. Takes two seconds, although you do have to do it every time you start the car, which is kind of annoying.
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You lent your money to an Icelandic bank because they were paying much higher interest rates than UK banks. You pays your money and you takes your chances.
They already had me when they let their banks go bankrupt for their own idiocy instead of having the population foot the bill.
They really had no choice. The banks losses were just so incredibly massive that they simply couldn't be bailed out, no matter how much they might have wanted to. $100 billion in losses, for a country of 325k people. Total net US bailouts have added up to about half that, for a country 1000x larger.
You might notice that Iceland is already on the rebound and out of the recession slump. We're not even in it yet.
Iceland's GDP is still 30% smaller than it was at the peak, while US GDP is 16% above pre-recession levels. Both are in current US$ for comparability.
"After having their nation's wealth raided by a collapse of British banks I suspect that the public feels a bit like a pirate seeking a bit of revenge."
Whaaa? It's the other way around - a bunch of Brits lost their deposits when ICELANDIC banks failed. Now, I don't have much sympathy for them, they put their money offshore to try to earn more interest, and that has risks, but the bad decisions that led the Icelandic banks to fail were 100% home grown.
Excellent piece from Michael Lewis about it here: http://www.vanityfair.com/cult...
You can be the largest political party there and still have your membership fit inside a Ford Transit van without violating any seatbelt laws.
Hey now, that sounds suspiciously like nuance, you know that's not allowed around here.
Yeah, the big medallion holders (who hold most of the medallions) are definitely hurting.
This guy seems to be in default (apparently, he can't get drivers for his cabs, so they're not generating revenue - next logical step is to start discounting the lease):
http://nypost.com/2015/03/16/t...
Also, check out the chart for Medallion Financial (ticker TAXI). Ugly.
I think the real concern with cab companies is the threat Uber is to the value of a medallion. If you've paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for a medallion, and are counting on it going up in value over time, anything that threatens that value must be crushed. If Uber were able to significantly dent cab demand in NYC and cab drivers decided to buy their own car to drive for Uber and not lease a cab, medallions would decline in value and people who have invested in them would lose serious money.
100% agree, and it looks like this is already happening.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01...
What you do is call the taxi commission, the number of which is prominently displayed (by law), including in braille and raised letters, in the cab. Who do you call when Uber 'accidentaly' charges the wrong rate?
The TLC, which regulates Uber. In NYC, it's no different from any other black car service (and that includes UberX).
They don't have a LIVERY license, and they don't have COMMERCIAL insurance.
In NYC, they do, even UberX.
If the same economics drove it you'd see prices converge to cab prices.
Except that the operating costs for taxi drivers are heavily driven by the cost of the medallion (at least half of the per shift lease fee for an NYC taxi goes to generate a return to the medallion holder, not cover the purchase and maintenance cost of the vehicle). Uber takes that out of the equation, so that it's feasible to see drivers making more money working the same # of hours.
Again, in NYC, all Uber cars (including UberX) are commercial vehicles with drivers who have TLC licenses.
This used to be a serious problem in NYC, but I haven't had a driver try the "credit card machine is broken" scam on me in at least three or four years. They may try it on tourists, but NYCers have known for years that the law is clear - unless the driver informs you upfront that the credit card machine is broken (before he turns on the meter), then, if he refuses to take a credit card, the ride is free.
Huh? How can Uber drivers self-select out of short trips if they don't know where the trip is going? Also, the system doesn't work that was, as I understand it. Drivers hit the on duty button on the app, then they're available, until they hit off duty. If they get an assignment, they can in theory turn it down, but do that more than a few times, and you'll be dropped off the system.
Which, at least in NYC, Uber does. It's legally no different than any other car service.
The fare data does include tips. See bullet point #2 on the first page.
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1503.0302...
Average fare in NYC is $13.40. Initial drop is $3.80-4.30, depending on time of day.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/do...
OK, to clarify, then, in NYC UberX drivers _do_ have TLC licenses and TLC-plated cars. In the rest of the country, they don't (whether or not they're supposed to).
8 miles is a very long taxi trip in NYC - average is 2.6 miles.
Just so folks know, UberX in NYC is unlike UberX in any other market, in that the cars are drivers are all licensed livery cars and drivers with TLC (Taxi and Limo Commission) commercial licenses and insurance. This is unlike the rest of the US, where UberX drivers and vehicles don't need commercial licenses and plates.
Only real difference between UberX and Uber Black in NYC is the quality of the car (usually Camrys or similar with UberX, and Town Cars or big SUVs with Uber Black).
Except that Uber drivers often DON'T know where the fare is going. They only know that if you enter it before pickup, and there's zero requirement that you do so.
made the wrong mod, posting to remove it
The only thing we know is that they've been caught before they were in the wild.
Except they've been out there for at least a year, probably more.
These things can be (and are) removed from the cars and moved into new ones. It's not a permanent installation.
You can just turn them off. Button's on the side or top. Takes two seconds, although you do have to do it every time you start the car, which is kind of annoying.
Pretty damn funny comment, since the reason I don't have any mod points is that I had just used them up. Karma's excellent, thanks.