> Maybe what we need is an equaliser. Instead of having an Uber app there is a taxi app and it gives you the choice of which carrier you want and let's you compare prices for a trip.
> That doesn't solve all problems but it does make it friendlier for new people to compete.
I don't think it solves much. Such apps have been popping up in Europe for some time now, but the strength of Uber is not really in the app. Their strength is in channeling VC money to lawyers to keep regulators at bay while they break the law to conquer a market here and there. They've also managed to spin a good tale about how they're the vigilante fighting the Evil Taxi Cartel (which mostly doesn't exist anyway - it's Uber who's the only large, trans-national player in the industry, so if anyone is Cartel in this story...). Consumers like consumers, they care about price first. Uber is cheaper therefore Uber wins, sustainability and externalities be damned.
> That doesn't solve all problems but it does make it friendlier for new people to compete.
I don't think it solves much. Such apps have been popping up in Europe for some time now, but the strength of Uber is not really in the app. Their strength is in channeling VC money to lawyers to keep regulators at bay while they break the law to conquer a market here and there. They've also managed to spin a good tale about how they're the vigilante fighting the Evil Taxi Cartel (which mostly doesn't exist anyway - it's Uber who's the only large, trans-national player in the industry, so if anyone is Cartel in this story...). Consumers like consumers, they care about price first. Uber is cheaper therefore Uber wins, sustainability and externalities be damned.