<story><title>Uber is officially a cab firm, says European court</title><url>http://www.bbc.com/news/business-42423627</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>Barrin92</author><text>&amp;gt;And the consumer...&lt;p&gt;Sorry, but as a consumer I welcome this. I will gladly pay a few bucks more or wait five minutes more for a taxi than having every industry taken over by the absentee landlord class that is the tech industry. In the case of Uber spying on their employees, having no obligations any other employer has, paying no taxes and misusing the data of their customers and drivers.&lt;p&gt;From time to time people would do well do understand that everybody is not just consumer but also a worker, or in the end you&amp;#x27;ll end up in a bad spot yourself.&lt;p&gt;One just needs to look at the fact that these businesses have customers and drivers rate each other, which is nothing but undignified and gamified surveillance. Don&amp;#x27;t give up essential freedoms for the sake of convenience.</text></item><item><author>ErikVandeWater</author><text>&amp;gt; competed on unfair terms&lt;p&gt;Albeit the taxi companies created the unfair terms.  Obviously it is not necessary to have a medallion to drive someone around.  HN is generally anti-lobbying to protect corporate interest, but now that Uber is big there is some regret...&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; I would love for the taxi industry to be liberalised but just not for the benefit of a few Silicon Valley billionaires&lt;p&gt;And the consumer...</text></item><item><author>flexie</author><text>And how ridiculous is it that it would take half a decade to state the obvious while this company funded by tech billionaires competed on unfair terms with tens of thousands of tiny taxi companies that followed rules and acquired licenses, expensive mandatory equipment etc.&lt;p&gt;I would love for the taxi industry to be liberalised but just not for the benefit of a few Silicon Valley billionaires with complete disregard of legislation.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>wvenable</author><text>I&amp;#x27;ve got an entire city of people (Vancouver, BC) who are desperately waiting for Uber to come and save us from the ridiculous taxi situation in this city.  Five more minutes?  You&amp;#x27;re lucky.  If you can get an Taxi in 2 hours downtown this month, you&amp;#x27;re lucky.  If you can get a cab to drive you to a suburb, good luck.  And we have plenty of people interested in driving for Uber when it comes here.&lt;p&gt;I welcome as much regulation as necessary to ensure that Uber is safe for consumers but beyond that I say let the tech industry come.</text></comment>
<story><title>Uber is officially a cab firm, says European court</title><url>http://www.bbc.com/news/business-42423627</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>Barrin92</author><text>&amp;gt;And the consumer...&lt;p&gt;Sorry, but as a consumer I welcome this. I will gladly pay a few bucks more or wait five minutes more for a taxi than having every industry taken over by the absentee landlord class that is the tech industry. In the case of Uber spying on their employees, having no obligations any other employer has, paying no taxes and misusing the data of their customers and drivers.&lt;p&gt;From time to time people would do well do understand that everybody is not just consumer but also a worker, or in the end you&amp;#x27;ll end up in a bad spot yourself.&lt;p&gt;One just needs to look at the fact that these businesses have customers and drivers rate each other, which is nothing but undignified and gamified surveillance. Don&amp;#x27;t give up essential freedoms for the sake of convenience.</text></item><item><author>ErikVandeWater</author><text>&amp;gt; competed on unfair terms&lt;p&gt;Albeit the taxi companies created the unfair terms.  Obviously it is not necessary to have a medallion to drive someone around.  HN is generally anti-lobbying to protect corporate interest, but now that Uber is big there is some regret...&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; I would love for the taxi industry to be liberalised but just not for the benefit of a few Silicon Valley billionaires&lt;p&gt;And the consumer...</text></item><item><author>flexie</author><text>And how ridiculous is it that it would take half a decade to state the obvious while this company funded by tech billionaires competed on unfair terms with tens of thousands of tiny taxi companies that followed rules and acquired licenses, expensive mandatory equipment etc.&lt;p&gt;I would love for the taxi industry to be liberalised but just not for the benefit of a few Silicon Valley billionaires with complete disregard of legislation.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>pivo</author><text>I feel the same. If only I could hail a taxi with an app instead of having to stand in the street and wave like an idiot at drivers that have riders but who have neglected to turn off their light (as they all do in my city.) And if only when I have to call for a cab I could give them my GPS location so they don&amp;#x27;t get lost and never show up and if I could provide my destination so they don&amp;#x27;t take the long way, either on purpose or accidentally. And if only there was a way to see that the cab was actually en route to my location and see an ETA.&lt;p&gt;If the cab industry could develop an app that works like Uber&amp;#x2F;Lyft I think they&amp;#x27;d be competitive again. I use cabs when they&amp;#x27;re right there and I know the city, otherwise I reluctantly use Lyft or whatever&amp;#x27;s available.</text></comment>