Wanna switch places?
I was born in 1940, I'm a member of the "silent generation", I hope that has nothing to do with the "silent majority". I was raised by folks who where teenagers during the great depression and called a spoiled brat just because I never went hungry.
Following up from Frequent Flier's comments, some observations based on my reading about and using Sydney taxis, which seem to have some similarities with NYC (although certainly not on scale), and no, I haven't used Uber either.
1. I agree that Uber would not be well served publicising net earnings.
2. Once the reality of what net earnings are sets in, the take-up of Uber by drivers is likely to level out and won't put all the regular taxis out of business.
3. Taxis have the 'hail from the kerb' market to themelves in inner Sydney, and I doubt that Uber has the potential to take much if any of that. I suspect NYC is the same. Maybe not in some other cities.
4. Potentially, Uber's surge pricing will act as a safety valve in busy times, drawing in extra drivers. The tendency for taxis not to turn up in busy times (they get a better fare etc) is a source of profound passenger annoyance. Extra Uber drivers in such times could paradoxically reduce this taxi PR fail.
5. Sydney has a 3 o'clock driver change over (am and pm). No amount of complaints has convinced them to change that (hey passengers, you have no choice, suck it up). See #4, plus, 'Hey we do have a choice, fuck off', may just kick in.
6. While yes, it's unfair to owners of NYC medallions and Sydney taxi licence plates, my sympathy is limited. Most drivers here aren't owners and often get a raw deal from owners. Based on #2 and #3, Uber is not likely to devalue the owners' investments but only to reduce the rate at which it appreciates. Even if it goes down some, welcome to the free market.
7. Yes, Uber needs to be suitably regulated, but that doesn't mean that the existing taxi regulations are the right ones for either taxis or Uber. Instead of asking governments to save them by regulation, taxis should look at why people use Uber (and it ain't just price) and work out what they can do to compete.
8. I follow a cabbie in Guelph ON on twitter. He's a vegan and straight but pretty hot anyway. He tweets what he really thinks about Uber, but also on things his taxi company is doing to make riding easier, like rolling out an app.
9. Taxi companies, it's not all about Uber, it's about you too!
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