[lolname]

Ubercab is not a taxi service

It's hard to read that and think of you as anything other than a liar (or perhaps an obnoxious pedant).

That's truly meant as constructive feedback.

edit: seriously. I figured it'd be better somebody tell him that on HN before he says it to a media personality without thinking of how it will be perceived by some.

[sp4rki]

It's not a taxi service. It's a Limousine/Black car service. And Ubercab only provides the dispatch operations and facilitate payment, not the transportation service itself

[lolname]

Look at their website and blog:

"The cab stand in your hand". Tags of "taxi", "cab" and "taxi stand". A name that includes the word "cab".

They're clearly positioning themselves as a taxi company, then saying "oh, but we are not a taxi company!" when called on it. The whole thing reminds me of Napster when they tried to claim they had nothing to do with all the pirated music available via Napster.

Other apps, like taximagic, avoid the trouble by simply dispatching a taxi instead of playing this limo / taxi licensing game.

I find it fairly offensive that they're trying to complain that they're just too innovative, when the reality is that they entered a heavily regulated market and made a conscious decision to ignore the regulation. Too bad, so sad, deal with it.

Mobile taxi hailing is obviously coming, but I'd back the horse that is smart enough not to piss off the taxi and limousine commissions in the launch city. That seems like an action that's likely to get them extra governmental attention in every new market they address.

[sp4rki]

How you market your brand doesn't make your company automagically drop out of its sector and join another just because. When you use Ubercab you don't get a beat up yellow taxi cab and a talkative taxi driver with too many stories to tell, you get a black sedan limousine with a professional, licensed, and insured limo driver (and sometimes fresh water bottles!). They comply with all the California regulations and are only available from dispatch and not from street hail.

You could argue that then they are fooling the public, and I'd certainly give you that point, by saying this is a cab service. I understand the reasons for it though, people are used to the idea that limo service is for the rich and famous, when it's not much more expensive in contrast to a cab.

So now how exactly does Taximagic avoid anything by dispatching a taxi? I'll tell you how, by sharing profit with established taxi companies. Both Taximagic and Ubercab do the exact same thing, the difference is Ubercab simply does not want to use taxi companies, and instead use limo services exclusively, not breaking any regulations by doing so.

You know what I find offensive? That the medallion industry is going after Ubercab because they want to get a piece of the pie. It's a perfect way to show the world that this is really a mob in all its glory. It's in a slightly twisted way no different than a mobster sending a payment collector to every store in the neighborhood to get protection money or drive them out of business if they don't pay up. If Ubercab doesn't win this, it's an example of how rottenly corrupt the system is.

PD: Napster and music piracy is no way similar to Ubercab and taxicabs. Pirated music did pass through Napster, but I see no taxi cabs being used by Ubercab.