By Justin Langford The emergence of ridesharing has revolutionized the transportation industry. By providing an online interface to connect passengers to drivers nearby, Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft offer an inexpensive and convenient alternative to traditional taxi services. The rise of TNCs, however, has brought about criticism among legislators and attempts … Continue reading Regulation of Ride Sharing Services Unnecessary Based on Evidence
Regulators Adapt to the Sharing Economy
By Matt Kelly The so-called “sharing economy” has revolutionized the way people travel, lodge, eat, and work through companies such as Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and OpenTable. Buyers and sellers are increasingly transacting on online platforms that use a mix of demand pricing, reputation mechanisms, and computer algorithms to match users. This innovation represents a dramatic challenge … Continue reading Regulators Adapt to the Sharing Economy
Regulation of Uber, Lyft Should Be Local, Not Statewide
By Matt Kelly It seems that everywhere Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies (TNCs) set up shop, trouble with local regulators follows. The situation in Florida has been no different. The Uber vs. taxi debate has been so heated that state lawmakers have proposed legislation (HB 509) to simply regulate all vehicles for … Continue reading Regulation of Uber, Lyft Should Be Local, Not Statewide
Taxis and Ridesourcing Companies Serve Different Customers
By Matt Kelly Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, and other “ridesourcing” services have been the subject of a near continuous stream of popular news stories, lawsuits, protests, and even regulatory reforms across the world. The reporting has often bordered on sensationalism, but a handful of recent economic studies have tried to objectively examine the effects of “ridesourcing” … Continue reading Taxis and Ridesourcing Companies Serve Different Customers
New Study Sheds Light on Ridesharing’s Labor Market
By Matt Kelly Few economic issues have been more talked about this year than the disruptive forays into the taxi market by ridesharing technology companies like Uber and Lyft. It seems reasonable to assume ridesharing drivers are of the same ilk as traditional taxi drivers, yet little academic research has been done...until now. A recent … Continue reading New Study Sheds Light on Ridesharing’s Labor Market
Florida Legislators Seek To Clarify Ridesharing Regulations
By Matt Kelly The ridesharing technology company Uber has created quite a controversy overthe past year for its unprecedented disruption of the traditional taxi industry. Users praise the California-based company for shorter wait times and cheap fares, along with features like its driver rating system. Given the mobile app’s popularity with customers, many are now … Continue reading Florida Legislators Seek To Clarify Ridesharing Regulations
New Study Tests the Merits of Surge Pricing
By Matt Kelly As Uber, Lyft and other “ridesharing” services continue to revolutionize the urban transportation landscape, more complaints are surfacing questioning the efficiency and fairness of the innovative services they provide. One of the more recent is “surge pricing,” the idea that services provided during peak periods carry a higher charge or fee. A … Continue reading New Study Tests the Merits of Surge Pricing
Taxi Regulation Reduces Driver Opportunity
Original post date: September 30, 2014 Article by: Ben Douglas For decades, state and local governments have imposed dramatic entry controls on the taxi industry across the United States. These regulatory hurdles benefit established companies at the expense of drivers. Many cities issue "medallions," a permit that grants its owner the legal right the right … Continue reading Taxi Regulation Reduces Driver Opportunity
Do UberX Driveres Really Earn Three Times More than Taxi Drivers?
Original post date: September 16, 2014 Article by: Ben Douglas In May, Uber revealed annual median incomes for UberX drivers in New York and San Francisco of $90,766 and $74,191, respectively. In contrast, 2013 median annual taxi driver incomes in New York and San Francisco are $29,910 and $28,060 according to the Bureau of Labor … Continue reading Do UberX Driveres Really Earn Three Times More than Taxi Drivers?
Uber Wars Transcend Party Lines
Original post date: September 08, 2014 Article by: Ben Douglas 6/8/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. High-ranking Republican officials have recently come out in support of Uber, the innovative but legally-troubled ridesharing app that connects drivers and passengers. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus penned an op-ed in the … Continue reading Uber Wars Transcend Party Lines
The Uber Wars
Original post date: December 10, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas 6/6/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. In my previous blogs, I discussed some of the legal and regulatory hurdles encountered by Uber, a Transportation Network Company (TNC) that provides on-demand taxi and limousine services using a smartphone app to … Continue reading The Uber Wars
Transit as an Inferior Good
Original post date: November 25, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas 6/6/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. Mass transit is frequently accompanied by mass-subsidization, cartelization, and monopolies. This chronic need for artificial support might be an indication of its inherent inferiority as an economically valued good or service. If consumers … Continue reading Transit as an Inferior Good
Customers Rise Up to Support Taxi Innovator
Original post date: November 19, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas 6/6/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. Finding a more textbook example of regulatory capture than the taxicab industry is difficult, as the case of the innovative on-demand taxi service Uber clearly demonstrates. Despite the highly regulated nature of the … Continue reading Customers Rise Up to Support Taxi Innovator
Entrenched Interests Fight Innovation in Taxi Industry
Original post date: November 19, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas 5/24/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. A revolutionary new smartphone app is changing the nature of the taxicab business, but stiff opposition from entrenched taxi companies risks keeping their innovations from benefiting customers. Uber is a venture-capital funded startup … Continue reading Entrenched Interests Fight Innovation in Taxi Industry
Transit Reform in Santiago: Part II
Original post date: October 22, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas 5/16/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. The success of any endeavor is dependent upon the metric being used. If the goal of transit reform in Santiago, Chile was the elimination of profit from transit and the homogenization of bus … Continue reading Transit Reform in Santiago: Part II
Lima’s Transit Woes
Original post date: October 07, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas The World Bank has devoted a considerable amount of funding in recent years to the establishment of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems in Latin America (and Africa). Numerous prominent Latin American cities have taken loans from the global financial institution for this purpose, including Mexico … Continue reading Lima’s Transit Woes
Ohio Pedicab Operator Regulatory Goal? Limit Competition
Original post date: June 04, 2013 Article by: Sam Staley 5/8/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. At least pedicab operators in Columbus, Ohio are honest about what they expect out of the city's licensing process: Purging the city of competition. The city is about to adopt regulations that, among … Continue reading Ohio Pedicab Operator Regulatory Goal? Limit Competition