[vannevar]

a lottery of being in the right place at the right time instead of going to the highest bidder (which is much more fair...)

A lottery where everyone has an equal chance of winning is by definition fairer than a system where 98% cannot participate because they cannot afford to.

[aianus]

The prices are not so high that they're unaffordable in an emergency. If it's not an emergency, then we should ration it the same way we ration any other non-essential consumer good when demand exceeds supply: by raising the price.

[vannevar]

I think it depends on how essential one regards the service, and on your income-dependent definition of 'unaffordable'. In bad conditions, taxi service might be considered more essential to many than it is during normal times. And I think 'eight times its normal rate' qualifies as unaffordable for most.

[aianus]

Unless you're dying or giving birth, I don't see how a limo ride is an essential service.

Even at 8x surge pricing (maybe $500 for a ride across Manhattan), Uber is much cheaper than an ambulance. Why are people mad at Uber and not the ambulance companies that charge insane prices for an essential service where they enjoy a monopoly?

[vannevar]

We're not necessarily talking about emergencies, we're just talking about ordinary life. Like someone who needs to get to his kid's birthday party, or home in time to get a decent night's sleep before work the next day.

And I think people are mad at ambulance companies, which is why the country is grappling with health care reform. A major obstacle to reform is the opposition of free-market idealogues who feel medical care should go to the highest bidder.