Other Parts of this blog:
Part 1, Life without
Part 3, Protection racket
Part 4, Cab fair
Part 5, Destruction of wealth
Part 6, Diversity compression
Driver and car testing could be random and regular on an ongoing basis. And that is all there would be to be done.
A principal task of the Calgary Taxi Commission is the regulation of the number of licensed cabs serving Calgary. This number is changed periodically, after detailed consultation and study with all relevant stakeholders. No doubt the members of the Taxi Commission labour mightily to arrive at the right conclusion, and this is motivated by their deep and abiding interest in the public interest. No doubt they favour no side in the debate and are impartial and sure in the processes they follow.
But with many cab customers and users, and the few cab license holders there is a persistent pressure imposed. The decision model cannot resist this asymmetry over time; the few current cab license holders want a lower number supporting the value of their licenses; the many users have a much larger collective interest in more licenses and more cabs, but individually little interest in seeing a change in the number of licenses. Even though each of us appreciates the value and importance of competition, in this area we stand down and pay little regard to the regulated number of licenses. But the owners assiduously work to ensure that the ‘right’ number of licenses is outstanding. And it would be too much to expect that they would have my interests as first.
Why not remove this limit and let the market look after things for us. That great invisible hand can liberate us from the tyranny of current owners of taxi cab licenses and open us up to the broad uplands of a taxi ‘free market’.nt cab license holders want a lower number supporting the value of their licenses; the many users have a much larger collective interest in more licenses and more cabs, but individually little interest in seeing a change in the number of licenses. Even though each of us appreciates the value and importance of competition, in this area we stand down and pay little regard to the regulated number of licenses. But the owners assiduously work to ensure that the ‘right’ number of licenses is outstanding. And it would be too much to expect that they would have my interests as first.
image: Flickr cc Pank Seelen “Yellow Cab 2”