# Why isn't Uber regulated as a taxi service? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 16, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673 "2015-06-16T14:25:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/261 "2015-06-22T20:02:39Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Excuse me, did you completely forget about the _ **15,000+** _ people left in the “Superdome” not only during but after Katrina? “Send buses into evacuate” my ass. 100,000 people were left in New Orleans despite the known risk of catastrophic flooding, the majority of which were poor, handicapped, without a vehicle, or all of the above. There weren’t enough buses, a lot of them ended up [underwater,](http://www.apfn.org/apfn/floodedbuses.jpg) and it was an all-around clusterf\*\*\*. I do agree that Uber’s response to Hurricane Katrina was abysmal. As was its reaction to 9/11 and the Cuban Missile crisis. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/262 "2015-06-22T20:11:04Z")
I agree that what-about-disasters is a tangent, but having the infrastructure of Uber in place could be something that is useful… imagine FEMA working with Uber to set up a quick-evacuation-protocol. Something that would be activated only very rarely, in Sandy-like-situations, but in which Uber drivers are offered peak-level-fares to carpool as many people who want out of the danger zone, being reimbursed by FEMA, or something like that. Having Uber around certainly doesn’t make things WORSE in a catastrophe and it provides a lot of the infrastructure that would be necessary to make things better. It’s win-win-win. Any uber driver who wants to can be very well paid for their driving. Lots of people get evacuated. Uber gets good publicity. And even paying high-volume-uber-prices is probably still cheaper for the federal government than trying to build up that kind of infrastructure from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/263 "2015-06-22T20:25:43Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Shame they weren’t given the chance to pay someone to drive them out, then. If only someone could come up with a way to connect them with drivers, at a price they both agree on. Yeah, well, if they only have $5 and the driver wants $50 they’re still not going anywhere, are they? I don’t have a problem with _appropriate_ fee increases, but there needs to be an upper limit of some sort. Something like “will never exceed 4x standard rate” or whatever which would enable people to plan to attend events like post-sports-championship rallys or just the bar-closing time on Saturday night when interest in rides will peak. You are correct, it is not Uber’s job to evacuate a city under threat of _[fill in the blank]_. On the other hand, it’s a resource to aid in such an evacuation, just as school buses, mass transit buses, light rail, and any other sort of transport would be. Under such circumstances, what is reasonable? Heck, I’m sure there are people who would pay for an Uber ride and pick up others along the way out of town in such a situation, but charity can be a spotty thing. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/264 "2015-06-22T20:32:30Z")
Uber isn’t going to be of much help in a disaster dire enough to call for an urban evacuation. Regular taxis won’t either. Both sets of drivers will be trying to save themselves and their families. I’m really not sure what this has to do with Uber’s day to day operations, when there aren’t mega-storms and Godzilla attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/265 "2015-06-22T20:42:30Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yeah, well, if they only have $5 and the driver wants $50 they’re still not going anywhere, are they? Depends if there’s anyone about prepared to pay more that $5. > [@](#): > > I don’t have a problem with _appropriate_ fee increases, but there needs to be an upper limit of some sort. Those two statements contradict each other. The appropriate fee increase is the one that matches supply to demand. > [@](#): > > Something like “will never exceed 4x standard rate” or whatever which would enable people to plan to attend events like post-sports-championship rallys or just the bar-closing time on Saturday night when interest in rides will peak. Keeping the fares artificially low won’t enable people to plan to do that, _because there won’t be the drivers to take them_. You just want people to pay an unfairly low rate to travel _in someone’s private car._ You can’t force people to drive people out of town at 3am for a low amount of money, and if you try to force them to charge the same at 3am as 3pm you’ll end up with not enough drivers. Or you could arrange taxpayer funded public transportation, if you think people have a right to low-cost transport. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/266 "2015-06-22T20:42:43Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yeah, well, if they only have $5 and the driver wants $50 they’re still not going anywhere, are they? If the riders only have $5 and the driver won’t move for less than $50, the driver is not getting paid either. He’s going to have to lower his prices if he wants to get paid at all. The situation of, “product X is so expensive that no one can afford it” never happens. What happens is “product X is so expensive that it is only being sold to people who are willing to pay more than I am”. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/267 "2015-06-22T20:43:07Z")
So all of you about Uber raising their prices during high demand times. How many of you realize airlines have done the same thing for decades during holiday seasons? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/268 "2015-06-22T20:45:48Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > The situation of, “product X is so expensive that no one can afford it” never happens. It does happen, but pretty quickly the expensive product is no longer made. Then people start bitching about it not being produced anymore, despite not having bought it for years because there’s a cheaper alternative. I doubt this is relevant to Uber, as they’re expanding rapidly. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/269 "2015-06-22T21:21:17Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > You are correct, it is not Uber’s job to evacuate a city under threat of _[fill in the blank]_. On the other hand, it’s a resource to aid in such an evacuation, just as school buses, mass transit buses, light rail, and any other sort of transport would be. Under such circumstances, what is reasonable? So those who can afford to own their own private car may evacuate that way. Those who can afford to may evacuate using Uber or taxis. Those who can afford neither have the option of the school buses and mass transit buses that will be provided by the authorities. It’s silly to discuss what’s “reasonable” for Uber to charge in an event in which they are one of many options available for people to evacuate. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/270 "2015-06-22T21:41:42Z")
For those confused about how we got here. 1. Uber shouldn’t raise prices when there’s a terrorist attack 2. I pointed out that “price gouging” is a bad name for a (generally) useful market adjustment, using the _example_ of gasoline sales before a hurricane. 3. Many of us started talking about whether to use Uber to evacuate in advance of a hurricane. Which it’s probably not suited for. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/271 "2015-06-22T21:56:22Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > It does happen, but pretty quickly the expensive product is no longer made. But the last few that come off the production line get sold in liquidation at a loss for something someone will pay for them. The thing that really grinds my gears is people who say, “Rent/Real Estate in Manhattan is so expensive no one can afford it!”. The place seems pretty crowded for a place where _no one_ can afford to live, with all those empty apartment buildings about. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/272 "2015-06-22T21:57:12Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So all of you about Uber raising their prices during high demand times. How many of you realize airlines have done the same thing for decades during holiday seasons? I don’t think anyone is bitching about that, other than the people discussing the emergency sidetrack. A few people complained earlier in the thread that you might get stuck somewhere because you didn’t know how much a ride home would cost. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/273 "2015-06-23T04:56:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > _::: blink-blink-blink :::_ > > Excuse me, did you completely forget about the _ **15,000+** _ people left in the “Superdome” not only during but after Katrina? “Send buses into evacuate” my ass. 100,000 people were left in New Orleans despite the known risk of catastrophic flooding, the majority of which were poor, handicapped, without a vehicle, or all of the above. There weren’t enough buses, a lot of them ended up [underwater,](http://www.apfn.org/apfn/floodedbuses.jpg) and it was an all-around clusterf\*\*\*. > > Here is a [link](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4860776) that very briefly covers it. There a bunch more out there on the internet about this. > > So no, not entirely hypothetical. > > Sure, a few people stubbornly stayed because that was genuinely their choice. _Tens of thousands_ stayed because they had no way to leave. ::shakes fist at the sky:: If only Uber had existed back then, at least the rich would’ve made it out safe a and sound! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/274 "2015-06-23T09:43:15Z")
That was addressed at the notion that the city was rescuing the poor and downtrodden. It wasn’t. As usual, they were left to drown. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/275 "2015-06-23T13:44:41Z")
Grayhound Bus lines offered their services; plus the city had thousands of school buses. the city government screwed up-there was plenty of time to evacuate; it just wasn’t ordered. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/276 "2015-06-23T14:00:54Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > I do agree that Uber’s response to Hurricane Katrina was abysmal. As was its reaction to 9/11 and the Cuban Missile crisis. I’m sure Napoleon was miffed at Lyft’s botched response to the [retreat from Moscow](http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/napoleon-retreats-from-moscow). I’m sure at least the officers in the Grande Armée could have afforded surge pricing. OTOH, if “rideshare” services HAD [del]existed and[/del] worked correctly, we wouldn’t have gotten one of the coolest [infographic depiction ever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia#/media/File:Minard.png). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/277 "2015-06-23T14:15:29Z")
Uber was the fuckin _Tory_ taxi service during the Revolution. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/278 "2015-06-23T14:18:59Z")
They need to get their act together on boats as well, look how many people died when the Titanic sank. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/279 "2015-06-23T14:20:13Z")
Oh man, they could have made a killing with surge pricing. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673/280 "2015-06-24T16:17:13Z")
If you want to know the actual nuts & bolts process that Uber goes through to not be regulated like a cab, [Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-06-23/this-is-how-uber-takes-over-a-city) has a piece on Uber entering Portland that, as far as I can gather, appears to be reasonably accurate about the backroom deals that Uber routinely puts in place to try and win these fights. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-uber-regulated-as-a-taxi-service/722673.md?page=15)