The authorities do not know how to regulate an economy based on equal cooperation of citizens
Massachusetts introduces a collection of $ 0.05 from each taxi call through the mobile application. The money will go to ordinary taxi drivers. This is a terrific example of how an innovative sector of the economy is taxed to subsidize unprofitable competitors.
Cab driver in pre-revolutionary Russia
The US state of Massachusetts introduces unprecedented measures to support taxis, which do not compete with cheaper and convenient “computer taxi” service - calling a car with a driver through a mobile application. Services like Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, Yandex.Taxi and dozens of their ilk work in many countries around the world and cause widespread outrage among traditional taxi companies and trade unions of taxi drivers. Their business has evolved over the decades and has not changed. For years, taxi drivers waited for a license to work - and having received the coveted paper, they felt secured for the rest of their lives. Now, revolutionary changes threaten to leave them without work.
Strikes and taxi strike strikes against Uber took place in the USA, France, Belgium, Belarus and other countries, in some countries taxi drivers attacked Uber drivers . The authorities often take the side of the traditional industry — and introduce various measures to regulate new-fangled computer taxi services. The Massachusetts authorities have gone further along this path than anyone else. In this state, computer taxi services will be required to subsidize their less efficient competitors.
')
Massachusetts is preparing to enter the collection of 5 cents from each trip through a computer service to call a taxi, and with this money they intend to support the traditional taxi industry. This is the first case of such subsidies in the USA and, possibly, in the whole world.
The state governor signed the law on imposing a fee in August 2016 as part of a package of laws regulating the market. The decision has already been made, it remains only to develop a procedure for collecting money from IT companies that operate in this sector.
The unions of taxi drivers wanted to go even further: they demanded the introduction of compulsory licenses for private drivers who find companions through a mobile application. They also demanded that other regulatory measures be applied to “private owners” that apply to professional taxi drivers, for example, regular technical inspection of the car.
Taxi drivers demanded to introduce not a five-cent, but a 20-cent tax on each trip. It was assumed that from this money 5 cents will go on subsidies to ordinary taxis, 10 cents - to the city budget, and another 5 cents to the state road fund.
Even such a small fee can bring millions of dollars. Only Uber and Lyft organize 2.5 million trips per month to Massachusetts. This money will go to the introduction of "new technologies and advanced service, safety and operational opportunities" of ordinary taxis.
In other countries, the authorities also often listen to the demands of trade unions of taxi drivers and introduce regulatory measures for Uber and similar services. If you look at the problem in a broad sense, then legislators and regulators are trying to adapt to the “sharing economy” as a whole. The authorities cannot understand how to regulate this new economic model, based on equal cooperation of citizens . This problem applies not only to private taxis, but also to P2P rental services (Airbnb, HomeAway, FlipKey) or home cooking services, where the family prepares meals and invites visitors to their homes (Feastly, EatWith). That is, such services where people make contact and interact with each other directly.
Instead of giving such services maximum freedom and stimulating economic activity, the authorities are trying to apply regulatory methods that operated in the old economy. Drivers of private taxis are forced to obtain licenses, get insurance, and taxis are forced to acquire special tokens for each driver. These are almost impossible conditions for a private taxi. It is not surprising that in some countries the work of Uber and similar services is generally prohibited or regulated by special rules. In California, Uber and Lyft are classified as “Transportation Network Companies” (TNC) using special regulatory measures. All these measures can hardly be called effective: ordinary taxi drivers still feel that their rights are violated.
The unprecedented actions of the authorities in Massachusetts are a special case. In fact, the authorities impose a tax on a more efficient innovation industry - and donate this money to a less efficient industry of outdated taxis, because they alone are not able to withstand the competition.
This story recalls how motorized carriages replaced the coachmen on horseback, who were involved in horse driving in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After all, that industry is also strictly regulated by the state .
For all cab drivers, the rules were prescribed, for the violation of which penalties were applied:
In addition, they had to go to the police to inspect the crew, after which, if everything was in order, they put certain seals. There were also restrictions on age: the driver had to be from 18 to 65 years. It was also required that the driver "differed sober behavior," but the latter requirement was not universally fulfilled.
A cab driver on a bay (waiting for a client). 1898
Interestingly, almost all the pre-revolutionary rules for cab drivers are still valid for taxi drivers. But scientific and technological progress does not stand still - and for the first time in two centuries, the industry of cab drivers will have to accept change.
Computer services like Yandex.Taxi help find a fellow traveler to any driver who wants to pick up a person on the way. He can do this once a week or once a month and does not professionally haul. Due to the large number of such "random" drivers, there are always hundreds of free cars on the map. The nearest of them will come to you on the GPS-coordinates within a few minutes, and the cost of the ride will be much cheaper than a professional taxi. With regard to security in the absence of state regulation, there should be no cause for concern: the organizers of the private carriage already apply more stringent verification rules than most taxi companies, including the two-sided rating system for assessing drivers. As a result, drivers in the same Uber are more politely and more decently dressed than in a regular taxi fleet, and their cars are newer and in better technical condition than regular taxis.
In such conditions, the usual rules of state regulation do not work, and the authorities' attempts to introduce licensing or, moreover, the collection from each trip in favor of taxis look extremely absurd. The system perfectly regulates itself without state participation, with which the authorities seem to be very difficult to accept.
However, the current revolution of tax services is more flowers compared to what will begin when unmanned taxis appear in commercial operation.
Illustration: Nitrozac & Snaggy
I wonder how taxis are adapted to this?
Cab driver in pre-revolutionary Russia
The US state of Massachusetts introduces unprecedented measures to support taxis, which do not compete with cheaper and convenient “computer taxi” service - calling a car with a driver through a mobile application. Services like Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, Yandex.Taxi and dozens of their ilk work in many countries around the world and cause widespread outrage among traditional taxi companies and trade unions of taxi drivers. Their business has evolved over the decades and has not changed. For years, taxi drivers waited for a license to work - and having received the coveted paper, they felt secured for the rest of their lives. Now, revolutionary changes threaten to leave them without work.
Strikes and taxi strike strikes against Uber took place in the USA, France, Belgium, Belarus and other countries, in some countries taxi drivers attacked Uber drivers . The authorities often take the side of the traditional industry — and introduce various measures to regulate new-fangled computer taxi services. The Massachusetts authorities have gone further along this path than anyone else. In this state, computer taxi services will be required to subsidize their less efficient competitors.
')
Massachusetts is preparing to enter the collection of 5 cents from each trip through a computer service to call a taxi, and with this money they intend to support the traditional taxi industry. This is the first case of such subsidies in the USA and, possibly, in the whole world.
The state governor signed the law on imposing a fee in August 2016 as part of a package of laws regulating the market. The decision has already been made, it remains only to develop a procedure for collecting money from IT companies that operate in this sector.
The unions of taxi drivers wanted to go even further: they demanded the introduction of compulsory licenses for private drivers who find companions through a mobile application. They also demanded that other regulatory measures be applied to “private owners” that apply to professional taxi drivers, for example, regular technical inspection of the car.
Taxi drivers demanded to introduce not a five-cent, but a 20-cent tax on each trip. It was assumed that from this money 5 cents will go on subsidies to ordinary taxis, 10 cents - to the city budget, and another 5 cents to the state road fund.
Even such a small fee can bring millions of dollars. Only Uber and Lyft organize 2.5 million trips per month to Massachusetts. This money will go to the introduction of "new technologies and advanced service, safety and operational opportunities" of ordinary taxis.
In other countries, the authorities also often listen to the demands of trade unions of taxi drivers and introduce regulatory measures for Uber and similar services. If you look at the problem in a broad sense, then legislators and regulators are trying to adapt to the “sharing economy” as a whole. The authorities cannot understand how to regulate this new economic model, based on equal cooperation of citizens . This problem applies not only to private taxis, but also to P2P rental services (Airbnb, HomeAway, FlipKey) or home cooking services, where the family prepares meals and invites visitors to their homes (Feastly, EatWith). That is, such services where people make contact and interact with each other directly.
Instead of giving such services maximum freedom and stimulating economic activity, the authorities are trying to apply regulatory methods that operated in the old economy. Drivers of private taxis are forced to obtain licenses, get insurance, and taxis are forced to acquire special tokens for each driver. These are almost impossible conditions for a private taxi. It is not surprising that in some countries the work of Uber and similar services is generally prohibited or regulated by special rules. In California, Uber and Lyft are classified as “Transportation Network Companies” (TNC) using special regulatory measures. All these measures can hardly be called effective: ordinary taxi drivers still feel that their rights are violated.
The unprecedented actions of the authorities in Massachusetts are a special case. In fact, the authorities impose a tax on a more efficient innovation industry - and donate this money to a less efficient industry of outdated taxis, because they alone are not able to withstand the competition.
This story recalls how motorized carriages replaced the coachmen on horseback, who were involved in horse driving in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After all, that industry is also strictly regulated by the state .
For all cab drivers, the rules were prescribed, for the violation of which penalties were applied:
- The driver must have had his license plate.
- The license plate should have been nailed in the appropriate place.
- Stop only in certain places.
- The crew was supposed to be clean and unbroken.
- Kaftan cab driver should be in decent form.
In addition, they had to go to the police to inspect the crew, after which, if everything was in order, they put certain seals. There were also restrictions on age: the driver had to be from 18 to 65 years. It was also required that the driver "differed sober behavior," but the latter requirement was not universally fulfilled.
A cab driver on a bay (waiting for a client). 1898
Interestingly, almost all the pre-revolutionary rules for cab drivers are still valid for taxi drivers. But scientific and technological progress does not stand still - and for the first time in two centuries, the industry of cab drivers will have to accept change.
Computer services like Yandex.Taxi help find a fellow traveler to any driver who wants to pick up a person on the way. He can do this once a week or once a month and does not professionally haul. Due to the large number of such "random" drivers, there are always hundreds of free cars on the map. The nearest of them will come to you on the GPS-coordinates within a few minutes, and the cost of the ride will be much cheaper than a professional taxi. With regard to security in the absence of state regulation, there should be no cause for concern: the organizers of the private carriage already apply more stringent verification rules than most taxi companies, including the two-sided rating system for assessing drivers. As a result, drivers in the same Uber are more politely and more decently dressed than in a regular taxi fleet, and their cars are newer and in better technical condition than regular taxis.
In such conditions, the usual rules of state regulation do not work, and the authorities' attempts to introduce licensing or, moreover, the collection from each trip in favor of taxis look extremely absurd. The system perfectly regulates itself without state participation, with which the authorities seem to be very difficult to accept.
However, the current revolution of tax services is more flowers compared to what will begin when unmanned taxis appear in commercial operation.
Illustration: Nitrozac & Snaggy
I wonder how taxis are adapted to this?
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/397029/
All Articles