Arm chair, i think there is a real difference between offering an unknown a lift for a few bucks, and making a business out if it. If you cant see that then there is little point debating with you as you are closed minded.

The fact is that the NSW government, while registering uber, has also taken the pro active step of compensating taxis and rightly so.

Proactive governing is quite rare and pleasing to see.

The taxi business in Sydney has been an unthinking monopoly for far too long.

Their unbelievably rigid "change shifts at three o'clock" rule, when you couldn't find a cab on the streets at all for the best part of an hour, used to blow me away when I was a regular CBD cab-user.

Their arrogance in charging a 10% surcharge for the use of bank-issued credit cards has always been nothing less than pure extortion.

And as for Cabcharge itself - what a rort!

The arrival of a competitor has them in a tailspin, as it has exposed their business practices for what they are - essentially anti-passenger.

And it did surprise me, in one sense, when an Uber ride that picked up a guest from my place the other day turned out to be in the livery of a regular taxi firm. But hey, if the alternative system is better than the existing one, why not? That applies equally to the drivers as it does to the passengers.

Pericles, the real test for uber will come when one of their drivers is involved in a serious accident.

If you wish to introduce a competitor, first you must offer a level playing field for all involved. So we either increase regulation on uber, or decrease it for taxis.

As for cc surcharges, these fees are under review and not just for cabs. Of cause the other side of this is they still take cash, so to pay by card and complain is a personal choice. Airlines on the other hand give no such alternative.

The value of taxi plates is set by a market responding to supply and demand.

Gov't is in charge of limiting supply of taxi plates, thereby limiting competition. This, in turn, determines profitability. Plate prices have been bid up in accordance with profitability.

I think it stupid that plate supply was ever limited by gov't decree, when the free market would have determined taxi numbers. Every taxi fare builds in the added cost of repaying the mortgage on plate purchase. This gives Uber an inflated pricing point and I'm looking forward to seeing taxi/Uber fares fall when plates are scrapped altogether, as surely they will be.

Plate owners have always carried the risk of change to arrangements, so should not be compensated, IMO, although I feel sympathy for those who didn't see this coming before getting in.

If gov't removes negative gearing on new investment, I'll have no leg to stand on when asset prices fall as a consequence (capital loss). Same, same?

No i disagree Luciferase, Negative gearing and taxi licences are not the same. One is a tax write off, while the other is a licence to generate an income.

As for free markets, Coles and Woolworths are prime examples of an over supplied market place as they have now found themselves in unfamiliar territory. They have screwed the farmers, screwed to suppliers, screwed the transport companies, now they have none left to screw, other than the shareholders and wont have a bar of it i can assure you.

Just on negative gearing, no government would simply remove NG without a cooling off period, because that would plunge the economy into recession if not depression.

I still think the NSW government has done the right thing in compensating taxi license holders.

Armchair Critic 24/11: I am stating nothing of the sort. I am not part of the NSW state legislature and nor am I a public servant employed in regulating the taxi industry. You should diret your enquiries to them. Like all industries, the taxi industry has the right to impress the appropriate government ministry with its concerns and problems. I served my co-operative as a delegate to the Taxi Council of NSW and can assure you we have no concerns about charitable and helpful lifts anywhere by anyone whether they involve some recompense or not. When thought through logically your suggestion becomes ridiculous. A bunch of fishermen or golfers on a weekend jaunt in the non-drinker's van.

You write; "If Uber is so bad then why do I hear about Taxi drivers working as Uber drivers after their taxi shifts or on their days off?" I can make no comment on what you hear nor when, but I'd hazzard a guess that they wanted to earn extra money. If a double shift cannot be arranged to suit the driver then he may need to drive for Uber. A taxi driver can drive for whomever he wants and no blame can attach to him for this. It is his choice. Please point to where I have said Uber is "bad". Please point to where I have said anything derogatory about Uber.

"Uber drivers own their own vehicle and probably take better care of them ......" Pure speculation and obviously based on a bit of wishful thinking. You don't know this for a fact. It is an owner's duty and in his own interest to maintain a high standard of maintenance inside and underneath the vehicle.
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