The New York City mayor has decreed the Nissan NV200 minivan will become the official taxi of the city. In addition to illustrating the corrupting effects of political power, the episode underscores the economic problems of government ownership of roads. Densely populated cities would be incredibly more pleasant with a free market in roads and taxis.
FULL ARTICLE by Robert P. Murphy
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Robert:
Now you have a great teaching example of fascism that everyone in your class can understand.
Another example of fascism – not quite as clearcut as the first, but a good example of the direction the country is headed.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/43003679
Technology, the free market, and entrepreneurship to the rescue! Check out this NY Times report on Uber, an new transportation service (not a taxi and not a limo service).http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/technology/04ride.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Uber%20Taxi&st=cse
I wonder how long before the taxi operators and commission try to put the uber out of business. After all, they’re competition, don’t seem to need to buy a medallion and it should be easy to say they’re really a taxi in disguise.
No Reg Required links. F the New York Times:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20059680-48.html
http://www.appolicious.com/tech/articles/7872-ubers-new-transportation-app-is-going-places
Wow Eric, really technical. The Uber systems look a lot like zip car systems. Or do you think it’s more like a faster-applied-for rental car?
Government is the reason I turned down work in NYC. The face value salary may have been 20% higher, but I live 20% better here because I don’t deal with all that nonsense.
Where is ‘here’?
Florida
No income tax, low sales tax, cheaper gas, lower rents. Basically everything is cheaper.
Sounds nice, Indiana isn’t too bad either, low property tax, even lower housing costs, low income tax. Funny how the areas that allow personal freedom are nicer places to live.
Interesting justification, J. Murray; frankly, I wouldn’t live in Florida if you paid me.
Well, there’s Texas, Tennessee, Washington, Alaska, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Wyoming that fit the bill, too.
Good point. I would really enjoy living in New York city just because I like big cities, but that government is letting the city really go to hell. The subways haven’t been remodeled since they were first built and rent is out of control because of rent control. But then again, what big US city is free of these problems?
I agree. I grew up in California and if it wasn’t for the government, I’d move back there.
This article is accurate when it comes to the taxis, but inaccurate in one minor matter. The bridges and tunnels into New York are not owned by the city of New York. The Tri-Borough (now RFK) bridge is owned by a quasi-government entity called the “Tri-Borough Bridge and Tunnel Authority” which has never shared its income with the city and was to remove it’s toll barriers when “the bridge is paid off.” All of the other bridges and tunnels are owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey which is a profitable concern (with too much government intervention and control) making money in the transportation world when most cannot.
“When the bridge (or road or port or canal) is paid off” is state-speak for “never.”
They said the same things about the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike which were also built by similar semi-public/private entities.
In December I was at the tri-region of Paraguay, Brasil and Argentina. The city Ciudad del Este, Paraguay is a truly free trade zone, bustling with merchandise and immigrants. Flowing in a constant hum of traffic across the bridge from the Iguazu Falls (Foz de Iguazu) Brasil to the city are motorcycle taxis. Just hop on and cut your trip across the border to only minutes. Virtually no waiting for thousands per hour. Vans, Cars and motorcycles constantly shuttle free trade shoppers between the 3 countries freely, without so much as a single look at a passport or immigration area. When the shoppers are finished, large bags and backpacks in tow hop on the next available taxi or motorcycle and zip back across the river Parana. Free markets, free choice of transport, free trade and a daily choice for millions.
I assume you’re aware that the US government considers the PAB border to be a “hotbed of criminal and terrorist activities”. What were you doing there, sir?
(http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/TerrOrgCrime_TBA.pdf)
I think there is more terrorist activity in the Washington beltway than in PAB. We were shopping of course!
We have similar problems in Toronto, Canada. A real mess. A 2-tiered “Medallion” system. The First-Tier Toronto “Medallions” are worth about $350,000. These are the so-called “Standard” licences — as opposed to the newer tier, called the “Ambassador” taxi licence, which cannot be sold or sub-leased and can only be used by the owner-operator.
Please read “A cure or a calamity? Toronto seeks to overhaul taxi licensing”
at
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/a-cure-or-a-calamity-toronto-seeks-to-overhaul-taxi-licensing/article2019084/
One quote from this article today in The Globe and Mail (“Canada’s National Newspaper”) alone highlights some of the absurdities in not employing free market mechanisms to solve these issues:
I think I remember something from my civics class about equal treatment under the law. I guess that whoever panders the most to government gets the spoils. What a shame. As if the medallion system wasn’t bad enough for the city.
Yikes, Somebody cover me while I read the article. That taxi looks too much like a police car!
Given the high gas prices and inflation that we are experiencing, I doubt that the cab industry can be profitable at all. Even with today’s artificially hiked up fares, most cab drivers barely make it and they have to work many many countless hours to barely make it.
To Freedom Fighter …
The poor immigrant-drivers “barely make it” because the Medallion-owner does not even have to drive his/her own cab(s) (or in reality most often, a Fleet of Such Medallioned-Cabs).
The Medallion gives the Cab-Owner a little Monopoly or Oligopoly.
This allows that owner to employ new-Americans at below-even-minimum wage rates because the operator who rents those Medallion vehicles from the Owner has to reimburse the Owner with a rental fee etc. and keep the crumbs that are left over (if those ‘crumbs’ are not actually Negative Cash). It can end up that the operator can be “out-of-pocket” at the end of his/her long-hour-filled day.
As a result of this setup, the City of New York is essentially enabling a System of Slavery IMHO.
Yup, mankind is quite stupid to make babies and work for crumbs.
On the other hand, I’m single with no kids and I’m having leisure all day long, LOL
Yes, that does sound like zip car (carshare) schemes.
A City like New York City, how can the mayor get it all wrong? A city of smarts but makes the wrong move.
Goodness gracious, what an utter balls up.
And notice how ugly that compulsory taxi carbuncle is. Seriously, could you ever allow yourself to be seen in it?
Sione
There’s a few questions (and a few pithy quips) I have that no one else seems to have asked. From what I’ve read elsewhere the vehicle is yet another hybrid.
What if the vehicle is a lemon by design? All are recalled for safety? Then there are NO cabs. And, being the GOVERNMENT APPROVED design, who would be liable for damages if these things go Toyota on them?
What if the supplies of the batteries become cut off for whatever reason and the vehicle can’t be built? Or the cost becomes so great that it’s unaffordable? (I’m sure all the Mises readers can answer that- it’s a monopoly).
What if gasoline is in short supply but diesel, natural gas, and electricity is available? Will this dog hunt? (I’m sure the City Government will help their anointed out).
And the one question that I thought Mises’ readers would have been on top of:
What if someone designed a new powertrain that rendered the “approved” hybrid system obsolete? Oh wait, why bother trying to develop anything, as there will be no NY cab market for it – 10 years minimum!
Dopey idea all around.
With high gas prices and advances in technology, I think that people will travel much less in the future so the taxi industry will probably collapse on it’s own weight.
Makes me wonder just how much “Mr. Mayor” stands to make off of this from Nissan.
Everyone know just how “honest” Bloomberg is.
Environmentalists don’t want to focus their efforts here, on eliminating this government cartel. I mean, if they did, there might be fewer cars on the road due to much lower fairs.
MADD won’t focus here either. If they did, there would be FAR fewer drunk drivers on the road. It’s a murderous racket for the state though, making an additional $6k a year on drunk driver fines.
(future possibility)… Help… I’ve been robbed while in a taxi… what did the taxi look like?? is was a yellow mini van… what else??
the whole idea sucks. The price for medallions is ridiculous to begin with… now they’ll tell you what kind of vehicle to use as well… you thought we were a free country? This country stifles new business in so many ways… which is why new businesses start up or move to foreign “business friendly” countries. We need to find a way to get corrupt politicians out of office sooner rather than later and repeal some of these STUPID regulations.
I would like to hear Robert Murphy’s thoughts about the present U.S. airline industry business model and if he thinks it makes more or less sense than the taxi system in New York. Perhaps they both suffer from similar problems? One significant difference is that the airlines charge individual passengers vastly different prices for the exact same flights and service. It seems to me that a free market functions more efficiently when the players understand what others are paying for a given “product” or “service”. Then again, maybe this is not the case.
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Wow really technical. Uber systems seem to be much more than a zip drive systems. Or do you think is more of a faster deployment and a rental car
Do anyone have the idea of N4iUW limousine model
Toronto limo taxi
In many cities different companies are operating the taxi services. Every company has its own rates.
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