The "sharing" economy--is it here to stay?

The Taxi industry has launched a full scale assault on Lyft, Uber and other ride services. They have a campaign called "Who's Driving You" to imply such a service is not as safe as a cab, though as if all cabs are clean and professionally driven. The hotel industry is trying to kill Airbnb, giving the same excuses.

My personal opinion is that long-term these services will win as the old-providers will not be able to stop them. For the ride services all that needs be pointed out is the under-served neighborhoods where cabs prefer not to go. Airbnb will likewise win out as not every locality can outlaw them. The ones that allow either will see a more dynamic economy. The ones that try to regulate them will not. Yes, a few places may outlaw a few things. But in the end this "sharing economy" is for real. The lure of a better-suited service it too great for the consumer. The lure to hustle a few bucks is too high for the providers. As Napster destroyed the place once known as the record store so will these services change their industries. Hotels and cabs will stay around, but to me it might make me use them instead of parking at the airport.

What say you? Would you stay at an Airbnb house? Use Uber to get to the airport? Would you now be a provider? Would you have hustled fares in your car in your spare time when you were younger?

Its a way of matching and pleases market makers, but the "market" for airbnb includes hookers who need a temporary set of digs or the like. And for years some condo owners at upscale resorts have been running private small scale "time shares'' sometimes in competion with the resort itself or in opposition to other condo owners who feel their homes are being over run by guests in the pool etc.

London used to have Black Taxis of licensed drivers and then some sort of phone dispatched car services that can't be flagged down (iin theory). Uber has been fought by Taxi commissions and air port commissions etc. but it does seem to be more efficient. Car sharing and ride sharing can work out for some. I'm not that trusting, I guess.

Quote: Fleastiff

London used to have Black Taxis of licensed drivers and then some sort of phone dispatched car services that can't be flagged down (iin theory). Uber has been fought by Taxi commissions and air port commissions etc. but it does seem to be more efficient. Car sharing and ride sharing can work out for some. I'm not that trusting, I guess.

London still has the black cabs and to be a driver of one is among the hardest jobs in the world to get. "The Knowledge" is an amazing test. To put it into perspective, imagine having to answer the order of casinos on either side of the strip, up and down, from any point the tester asks, instantly. Then what show is at which, instantly. It takes years to get the job of a Black Cab driver. They would have nothing to fear from Uber.

Your local Yellow Cab with 300,000 miles and a driver who may have the only job he can get, OTOH, may be a different matter.

Quote: AZDuffman

Your local Yellow Cab with 300,000 miles and a driver who may have the only job he can get, OTOH, may be a different matter.

300? Some of our cabs had 500K, all Chevys.
Changed the oil once a week, that was the
secret. And getting a cab license now is far
different that it was 20 years ago. The hoops
you jump thru pretty much weed out the
undesirables. You have far more to worry
about from a guy who's been there since 1985.
He knows every way to rip you off there is.

Then OW (Singapore) was caught up in a 125 million dollar fraud and it seems this one billion entity filed for bankruptcy but the corporation identified two employees and turned them over to the police immediately.


DdD DeViL

OW Singapore supplied bunker oil to ships and was not at all part of the so-called "sharing economy" which relates to ad-hoc sharing of assets such as cars, apartments, etc.

Interesting that you mention London's black cabs.

My girlfriend and I were vacationing in London in 1988 where a driver of a black cab gave me two bogus 5 pound notes as change.

We intended to use the notes for admission to Madame Touseud's where their security held me for questioning by the police.

In the end, because I was able to remember a lot of details about the cab, driver, advertising inside the cab, etc., they decided I was being honest and let us go after about half an hour. Madame Touseud's then allowed us to enter the museum for free.

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Back to the original question:

I distrust the sharing economy.

Uber and Lyft for example: Most (all?) of those drivers do not have insurance coverage for taxi service.

Most don't have insurance a few are rapists, muggers, runners for nightclubs, but overall its so profitable the monopolies are up in arms for some reason.

Airbnb gets some hookers, some loonies...some complaints ... but makes lots of money.

More Uber cars on NYC streets than yellow cabs!

I think that this will keep growing and hope that it does. I like the part where it says Uber drivers can make more than cab drivers. Why should I pay more just because there is a Medallion on the hood?

You can now get an indie car ride, stay at an indie room, and even have your dog watched all with the same "sharing" concept. I heard of a site where you can have people over for a meal using the same idea. So the question becomes not it it real or is there demand, but how many different services are going to come out of this model?

I do love the concept of both customer and vendor rating each other. If the Uber car is a mess I can rate it. If I am a drunken idiot the drive can rate me. In the end it should make everyone nicer to each other.

Hey Bob Last I knew a taxi shield was $250,000 in New York City. Wonder what it's worth now ? ? ?