Ride-sharing is safer and faster than taxis — which is why taxi drivers want it restricted.
Like New York City’s yellow cabs, London’s black cabs were once the only choice for individuals’ public above-ground transportation. People took the Tube, a bus, or a cab. But competition from ride-sharing services such as Uber has eaten into the taxi business.
“The plan is to roll out government-sponsored preferences for taxi companies.”
London mayor Sadiq Khan promised to reverse this progress back in March when he said, “I will be a mayor that begins the renaissance of the black taxis. They’re iconic — we saw the closing ceremony at the Olympics, what a role they had. I don’t want the black taxi to go the way of the red telephone box.”
Khan followed through on this promise by releasing his 27-point “Taxi and Private Hire Action Plan.” In it he lays out measures that could limit many of the benefits that have come from ride-sharing while providing major subsidies to the city’s taxi industry.
Since Uber arrived in London four years ago, its relationship with the taxi industry has been turbulent, to say the least. Uber and other ride-sharing platforms have expanded the number of for-hire trips and poached some of the cabs’ riders. Taxi drivers have responded with slowdown protests and ineffective lawsuits. The 27 measures described in Mayor Khan’s new plan, though, provide just the answers they were seeking. (Compare the release to the 28 points in the taxi drivers’ April manifesto and you will find considerable overlap.)
The plan is to roll out government-sponsored preferences for taxi companies. While cabs may see a 20 percent increase in their ranks by 2020, they will also receive expanded access to bus lanes and expensive subsidies to promote a greener taxi industry. Transport for London, the local transportation regulator, will put aside $51 million to incentivize drivers of older taxis to end their licenses. Further, $32 million will be used to subsidize the first 9,000 zero-emissions-capable taxis, and the industry is lobbying London’s government for even more funding.
Instead of government giveaways, ride-sharing drivers can expect significant hurdles. The plan describes special insurance requirements, English-language requirements, advanced driving tests, and topographical tests. All of these will result in higher fares and longer waits for passengers.
It is no wonder that black cabs cost more than Uber. Taxi drivers regularly spend...
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Jared Meyer is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute's Economics21. Follow him on Twitter here. Dillon Tauzin is a contributor to Economics21.
This piece originally appeared in National Review Online