Comment by enigami | Hacker News Reader

Comment by enigami | Hacker News Reader

I think Uber will find a way out of this situation. I am an Indian and am really feel sad for what happened in New Delhi. But, what happened after that incident is an example of how Uber handles such kind of unfortunate challenges [1]. Now the company is taking every possible step to be a socially responsible company which is committed to the safety of its customers.

Whenever a new and disruptive business model is introduced in a market, people (making a living out of the existing business) might show some resistance and even the governments will take some steps to safeguard the votes (I mean the affected people). However, in the due course things will settle down and the new entrant will emerge as winner (with an understanding of the local culture and regulation).

I personally feel, country like India definitely requires Uber like services to ease the pain of millions of travelers who are literally looted by the unfair taxi drivers and ineffective fare system around the country.

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11315782/Uber-I...

Do you know why Uber wasn't invented in Spain? Because it is illegal. People giving rides for money have existed always and they've been punished because they were breaking the law.

Now they're telling us it is "disruptive" to make crime more organized? Hey, we've got this nice app in order to receive your illegal service in an easy, trackable and convenient way.

I'm not saying it should be illegal. I'm saying it is illegal. There's a huge difference. I'm all in for an open taxi market as a side business to cheap public transportation like we have in most places in Europe.

Uber's entire premise seems to be that a regulated market is by definition a corrupt one, that the "crime" lies in following the laws, not breaking them. One person's "organized crime" is another's "free market enterprise".

Their argument, and their attitude, fails when they encounter cultures which don't share the US' antipathy towards labor and consumer rights. There are places where the taxis manage to not be terrible, and where people prefer services to be regulated beyond "caveat emptor." Insane, I know.

What's wrong with people giving rides for money? That's ideal model of open market IMO. I have this model applied in my country and 5 kilometers taxi ride would cost around 1-2 euros, depending on time (bus costs 0.4 euro). That's nice for customers, if you ask me. There's other side of the coin, it might not be safe enough to ride with unknown driver at night being in unconscious state. But we have public taxi services with slightly higher prices for that.

I was at Spain in my vacation and transportation costs shocked me, TBH.

Hey vbezhenar,

I don't see nothing morally wrong on their business model. I'm just pointing out it is illegal under the current law and that's why there's no Spanish Uber. Also, we all know this is not ride-sharing, just a cheaper and unregulated taxi company. Blablacar is ride-sharing :)

Transportation costs in Spain are far from free, but if you were shocked I would recommend you not visiting Britain for your health's sake. Well, I actually recommend visiting the country because it is beautiful, but just don't hop on a train.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com