New York City, under the mayorship of Michael Bloomberg, has instituted new regulations requiring cabs have GPS and credit card capability for customers. Of course, this is all purported to favor the consumer, but as cabbies point out, these GPS systems are unreliable and when they shut down, the fare system shuts down. So not only does the regulation increase the overall costs of these independent contractors in doing their business, it also increases the transaction costs for consumers dealing with unreliable fare systems.
As such, many cabbies are trying to strike peaceably by not offering their independent cab services.
It would be great if these guys all gave up their leases with the city and offered truly private cab service. But I guess there is little hope of breaking the ridiculous medallion system anytime soon.
I wonder what kind of corporate welfare Bloomberg has in mind if he runs for president (or more appropriately, what corporate interests have him in mind)? Maybe instead of Halliburton in Iraq, we'll see Visa and Mastercard is mandatory in every village market outside the greenzone.
