New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has temporarily banned some of Uber's bases.
Five of the six bases run by the taxi service were suspended by the city's taxi and limousine tribunal after Uber refused to hand over ride records.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) was requesting that Uber hand over "the date of trip, time of trip, pick up location, and license numbers" over a finite period.
The TLC's authority to request ride information comes from a rule that says "a Licensee must truthfully answer all questions and comply with all communications, directives, and summonses from the Commission or its representatives."
Uber argued unsuccessfully that the TLC's directive was a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure.
The TLC says its rule is "necessary to ensure adequate protection and public safety," according to the decision.
http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-has-been-partially-suspended-in-new-york-city-2015-1
Well, I can see how they both sorta have a point, no one needs to track you, I'm against the idea of everything we do being analyzed by the NSA and other US Govt bureaus. But I can bet the rule about keeping tabs of drivers was due to safety concerns. Well, I'm still against it. When they start monitoring themselves for violations of US law, then they can free up some time to be concerned with law abiders... but too damn many cops have been raping homeless women and stealing drugs from dealers and selling the drugs, while on the clock using their police cruiser, so go watch them instead.
But for a really good analysis of the issue, check out the Boston Globe article:
Uber has plenty of enemies. The Web-based taxi service opened for business just five years ago, but recently its reputation has instilled enough fear in competitors to tie up traffic not just in Boston but in London, Paris, and a dozen other European cities. The protests staged were intended as a defiant stand by cabbies against the “unregulated” car service. Instead, they were an advertisement of a different sort: for outdated business models, archaic regulatory structures, and entrenched business interests that are desperately fighting to protect the status quo.
It’s difficult to exaggerate how little the taxi industry has changed during the past 75 years. In the late 1930s, there were nearly 14,000 “medallions” issued to New York City cabs. By 2012, the number had actually dropped to 13,237.
Medallions and similar quotas create an artificial scarcity that insulates the market from competition. That lack of competition, in turn, undermines any incentive for innovation or investment in new technology. Most Washington, D.C., cabs didn’t accept credit cards until this year. The cab companies prefer it that way.
Entrenched and protected by law, traditional taxi operators were slow to respond. To their dismay, they soon realized that efficiency, ease of use, and customer satisfaction were powerful competitive forces. Having been coddled by layers of bureaucracy for years, the industry did the only thing that came naturally: They begged their bureaucratic masters to cripple Uber with a mandated delay of 15 minutes between ordering a ride from Uber and the passenger pick-up .
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/06/22/uber-isn-problem-taxi-regulations-are/5tBvAe8rcnGFcDYDT0jx3N/story.html
The Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) was requesting that Uber hand over "the date of trip, time of trip, pick up location, and license numbers" over a finite period.
The TLC's authority to request ride information comes from a rule that says "a Licensee must truthfully answer all questions and comply with all communications, directives, and summonses from the Commission or its representatives."
Uber argued unsuccessfully that the TLC's directive was a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure.
The TLC says its rule is "necessary to ensure adequate protection and public safety," according to the decision.
http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-has-been-partially-suspended-in-new-york-city-2015-1
Well, I can see how they both sorta have a point, no one needs to track you, I'm against the idea of everything we do being analyzed by the NSA and other US Govt bureaus. But I can bet the rule about keeping tabs of drivers was due to safety concerns. Well, I'm still against it. When they start monitoring themselves for violations of US law, then they can free up some time to be concerned with law abiders... but too damn many cops have been raping homeless women and stealing drugs from dealers and selling the drugs, while on the clock using their police cruiser, so go watch them instead.
But for a really good analysis of the issue, check out the Boston Globe article:
Uber has plenty of enemies. The Web-based taxi service opened for business just five years ago, but recently its reputation has instilled enough fear in competitors to tie up traffic not just in Boston but in London, Paris, and a dozen other European cities. The protests staged were intended as a defiant stand by cabbies against the “unregulated” car service. Instead, they were an advertisement of a different sort: for outdated business models, archaic regulatory structures, and entrenched business interests that are desperately fighting to protect the status quo.
It’s difficult to exaggerate how little the taxi industry has changed during the past 75 years. In the late 1930s, there were nearly 14,000 “medallions” issued to New York City cabs. By 2012, the number had actually dropped to 13,237.
Medallions and similar quotas create an artificial scarcity that insulates the market from competition. That lack of competition, in turn, undermines any incentive for innovation or investment in new technology. Most Washington, D.C., cabs didn’t accept credit cards until this year. The cab companies prefer it that way.
Entrenched and protected by law, traditional taxi operators were slow to respond. To their dismay, they soon realized that efficiency, ease of use, and customer satisfaction were powerful competitive forces. Having been coddled by layers of bureaucracy for years, the industry did the only thing that came naturally: They begged their bureaucratic masters to cripple Uber with a mandated delay of 15 minutes between ordering a ride from Uber and the passenger pick-up .
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/06/22/uber-isn-problem-taxi-regulations-are/5tBvAe8rcnGFcDYDT0jx3N/story.html
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