Sick Opportunist Taxi Industry Lobbyists Use Death Of 6-Year-Old Girl To Attack Uber
from the disgusting dept
We've talked many times about how legacy industries will stop at nothing to attack disruptive upstarts and innovators. Rather than compete, they'll try to come up with the craziest stories of "harm" being done in order to try to restrict competition through regulation. As we've seen time and time again, while companies often claim to be "against regulation," what many legacy providers have realized is that once they understand the regulations, they can actually be used quite effectively to limit competition and keep out disruption (while also allowing those legacy player to artificially inflate prices). Nowhere is that more clear than with traditional taxi/limo companies and their out and out hatred for Uber, Lyft, Sidecar and other similar services.The latest showed up in my email box a few weeks back, where Robert Werth, the head of the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association went to incredibly depraved depths, trying to argue that the tragic story of a six-year-old girl, who was hit and killed by "an UberX driver" showed that Uber needs more regulations. Of course, the details show that the driver in question, Syed Muzaffar, wasn't even working for Uber at the time of the accident. Trying to push your political agenda on the back of a tragic accident involving a child is pretty sick. And, really, this doesn't seem like the sort of fight that Werth wants to get into, seeing as a story just popped up elsewhere talking about a NYC cab driver killing a 9-year-old boy.
Accidents happen not because Uber isn't regulated in the same manner as taxicabs, but because accidents happen. The fact that Werth and the taxi lobby immediately jumped on such a tragic accident as if it was an opportunity to bash a company that many riders have found to serve a real need -- a need that cabs often fail to provide -- is really just an incredibly low blow from an organization that clearly doesn't want to innovate, but would rather hold back and limit innovation. Even if it means twisting the tragic story of a 6-year-old girl to make their point.
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Filed Under: lobbyists, robert werth, taxis
Companies: tlpa, uber
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I'm guessing that the drivers would rather maintaina distance from them... Much like Artists are recognizing the labels couldn't care less about them.
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That Tim Cushing guy is to blame.
https://twitter.com/TimCushing/status/418798960493338626
Somehow this case is worse because it might have something to do with Uber, while I am sure there are many people injured/killed by taxis without all of the hype.
But then I am rarely shocked by the lengths a legacy industry will go to attempt to keep their grip on things.
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Sick Opportunist Blogger Uses Death Of 9-Year-Old Boy To Support Uber
Uber is another of Mike's faves. It's not actually clear why except that like all loony "libertarians" he seems to think unlicensed bandits in taxis are better than licensed ones. And of course, the arranging is "on teh internets" so it's gotta be great. -- In fact, the real problems are systemic and endemic: round here taxi services seem to work fine; it's just in crowded mega-hives those are monopolized by The Rich like all else. Problem is as always The Rich.
But legacy industries as such don't trouble Mike: he supports the hoary old legislated monopoly of the National Football League. Mike also seems to like Google's monopoly and want it to grow. (I recognize that's complex assertion, yet FACT is that Google has its field rather well controlled and lacks competition, which is ODD in itself given the enormous profits...) Anyway, Mike isn't so uniformly against monopolies as his support of Uber implies, it's just that like all weenies, he's enamored of using his Ipad to call a taxi.
Everyone now loves "free markets!" -- Especially The Born Rich who get to start "competing" with a pile of money.
07:07:22[i-50-4]
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Re: Sick Opportunist Blogger Uses Death Of 9-Year-Old Boy To Support Uber
Stay tuned for 5 words later when he rails against them.
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Re: Sick Opportunist Blogger Uses Death Of 9-Year-Old Boy To Support Uber
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Re: Re: Sick Opportunist Blogger Uses Death Of 9-Year-Old Boy To Support Uber
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Re: Re: Re: Sick Opportunist Blogger Uses Death Of 9-Year-Old Boy To Support Uber
*I intentionally do not count ootb's rant as a legitimate comment.
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Nope. Accident is when you walk out of the public restroom with toilet paper sticking to your shoe sole.
When a donkey driver from Middle East desert runs over a child in NYC it is called manslaugher.
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In other news...
Word is the GOP also has a eye on him as a possible candidate for 2016. Our source was quoted as saying "He'll fit right in!".
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Everybody Limbo!
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A link to the death in question
http://blog.angryasianman.com/2014/01/6-year-old-pedestrian-struck-and-killed.html
Beyond the question of trying to get after Uber, any little bit would help this girl's family.
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Misread, but more honest
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Re:
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George Bush (the elder) would never have been elected president if not for campaign manager Lee Atwater's persistent use of the Willie Horton rape as a central campaign theme.
Although highly controversial (to say the least) it's one of the most effective tactics of persuasion ever devised.
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responsiblity
The California PUC was warned by the insurance industry and paid no attention. This is gross negligence or corruption. I am sure future law suits will determine that.
ubers valuation cannot allow it to be a transportation company . Providing commercial insurance on every car would significant change their future profitability. I think insurance carriers will be heard in 2014. I don't think the message will be good for sedans acting as taxis and rider share drivers.
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Uber
Maybe in your gushing praise for anything Uber you failed to ask yourself just what the Uber driver was doing on the street during the AM hours when he ran over a family and killed a little girl... Oh wait, he was trolling for Uber fares... Wow! Is it safe to assume that if he was not driving for Uber he would not have there at all... Well, yes...
Is it safe to say that the taxicab industry lives by certain rules including how many hours a driver may work? Well, no.. that is a state law... BUT, are taxicab companies supposed to help enforce this law... Well, yes.. Does Uber... well, no..
Is it safe to say that the taxicab industry informed regulators that Uber would deny liability for accidents.. Well, yes.. Sadly, we were right and they were wrong...
I assume you wrote this inane article because Uber told you to do it and in exchange they promised to give you some inside information... Well, yes...
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Re: Uber
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Re: Uber
This is where you link to evidence to support your claim. Unless you just pulled a "fact" out of your arse because it supports your assumptions, of course. We'll wait.
Oh wait, you're a lying asshole:
"you failed to ask yourself just what the Uber driver was doing on the street during the AM hours"
This did not happen:
"A 6-year-old girl died in one of the crashes, which happened at 8 p.m. Tuesday when Syed Muzaffar, 57, of Union City failed to yield" Source: http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Arrests-in-2-S-F-crashes-that-killed-pedestrians-5108718.php
We'l l forget about the idiotic assertion that someone driving at the early hours of the morning must be working if they happen to have an Uber account, since that bears no relationship to what actually happened here.
So, are you so stupid you don't know the difference between AM and PM, or are you just a liar? Let me guess, you're related to the racist moron above who thinks someone with a funny name can't have a genuine accident?
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Limo/taxi
If UBER wants to be in the transportation business; they should obey transportation laws. Being a computer nerd schmuck in the Haight Ashbury district is not a n exemption from social and legal responsibility.
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Re: Limo/taxi
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