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Comment by ahomescu1 | Hacker News Reader

> By and large, I prefer to live in a world with taxi and hotel regulation

I can see why you'd want licensing for taxi drivers (to help against customers getting ripped off or mugged), but what's the point of limiting the number of taxis (which is really one of the main points against taxi regulation)? I'm not sure it restricts the number of cars in the streets, if people who would otherwise take a cheap taxi now have to own a car instead. My point is there is such a thing as too much regulation.

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  > My point is there is such a thing as too much regulation.

Or just poorly constructed regulation. I agree with you. I want taxi regulations, because I've got enough historical and international perspective to know what will happen without them and to know that they are, at worst, the lesser of two evils.

However, I absolutely want smart regulation that gets out of the way where it isn't helping anyone and ensures that the services people want can be delivered.

That being said, I would prefer better public transit than more taxis, but that's just another side of the same many-sided die.

In some places we have this thing called public transport. In some very odd places we even use bicycles.

Taxis, like all other cars, clog up the roads with their inefficient size to passengers ratio, and pollute the air. Limiting the number of taxis can be a matter of maintaining a half way liveable city.

If there were plenty of cheap taxis in my town (Amsterdam) I would use them a lot, because I'm a big fat lazy motherfucker. Unfortunately, there are too many people like me, and our selfishness would be detrimental to the society around us.

(I'm typing this as it's pouring outside and I have to get to the office. I would love a cheap taxi right about now, but the world doesn't revolve around me.)

Regulation isn't an appropriate response. If taxi's are cheap to operate (hence ample supply but artificially limited) then personal vehicles are cheap as well. "Big fat lazy motherfuckers" will just buy their own vehicle and make an even larger mess.

Pardon my idealistic views, but it would be better to curb demand for taxis with: a. cheaper, more consistently on-time public transportation b. safer bike routes c. casual carpool programs

The real question is why you rather take a taxi than your local public transportation.

"The real question is why you rather take a taxi than your local public transportation."

Eh, probably because public transport would have to cost twice as much as a taxi to make it even half as comfortable? Not even counting that a taxi will take you door to door?

> Regulation isn't an appropriate response

The previous poster is from Europe, I'm guessing that you're from North America. In which case your definition of an "appropriate response" to societal problems and market externalities is completely different.

Regulating in order to maximise the value to all of society is perfectly appropriate for Europeans.

Speak for yourself.

I'm also from Europe, and I agree with icedog.

Sorry - super late reply on this. I wasn't trying to imply that regulation was the 'correct' response as that's a value judgement. I was just trying to point out that the USA and Europe broadly have different views of what a legitimate response is.

bike routes are so over rated, other than strict diehards they are fair weather routes only. Otherwise its too hot, too cold, to wet, I don't feel like it, got to carry something, going to the store, etc/etc/etc

taxis arose because public transportation doesn't always go where people want and is not as timely. Regulation is required for safety, it should not be used to curtail competition against entrenched interests

Models of NYC traffic show that increasing the number of cabs would not cause a proportional decrease in the number of private cars, and that the congestion would make the average taxi trip take longer, even including the time spent waiting for a taxi.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/07/31/157477611/does-new...

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