In what could only be described as an Uber style move, Uber is reported to be suing the St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission for the outrageous demand of requiring UberX drivers to be finger printed and possess a Class E (chauffeur's ) license. Uber is reported to have sued for anti-competitive practices and started operations without meeting the requirements.

Well, how very Uber of them. Not to be outdone, the commission sued them right back for operating outside the regulations. Now the real pressure is being applied at the state level where one of the representatives is calling the law that created the commission "unnecessary." You see, in politics, having deep pockets gets you a lot of friends. Sue you? We'll take you out! You won't even exist when we're done with you!

Sounds like these boys used to work for the IRS.

I can walk out to the corner and try to flag down a taxicab, which may or may not stop depending on the driver's whim, or I can get an Uber, UberX or an UberXL that charges less? That's the question New Yorkers are asking themselves these days as a reported "bitter fight" wages between the "ride share" world and the traditional taxicabs.

Uber has cut fares, do they actually call them fares, and expects an increase in business due to the rate decrease. It's been reported that complaints are coming in that drivers will make less per trip which Uber counters with greater utilization will keep driver's revenue up. Sounds a little like the Wal-Mart model, increase volume to cover a reduced margin.

Taxicab drivers are stuck with the price tag on the medallion keeping their rates artificially higher, so they face extinction. With enough spending money to grease the wheels, Uber appears to be on the verge of collapsing the taxicab industry. Perhaps, we'll see those taxicab medallions get reduced to a point where they'll be able to be purchased by the drivers instead of well heeled investors.

As long as the industry has the shackles placed on it by the city's regulations it will never be able to compete with a lower priced, high tech competitor. Industry leaders don't appear interested in lessening regulations on taxicabs, but increasing regulations on Uber. Good luck with that. David is now Goliath!

Can these fools get away with anything?

Reports are that the PPA spent upwards of 500K hiring Rocco Pugliese's company to lobby Harrisburg and to potentially stop a bill that would have legalized "ride share" companies in Philadelphia. It is being reported that there is a bit of collusion between the "unbiased" PPA and the taxicab medallion owners in Philadelphia in an attempt to get a "carve out" in the law disallowing the "shared ride" companies to operate in Philadelphia.

Vince Fenerty, head of the PPA, is referenced in some of the email exchanges and was reported to have stated that "the PPA's primary concern has always been and continues to be public safety." Gee, first they bully the union, one of their capos, er, bosses, goes to the joint and now they wanna fix the state legislature? The PPA, I love these guys like family. Well, not my family, but somebody's family. Yo Vinny, get Rocco up to Harrisburg and take care of this thing. This could be a made for TV movie.

A recent op-ed by Peter A. Kirby, a taxicab driver in San Francisco, has boiled down some interesting thoughts on the recent Yellow Cab bankruptcy, Uber, state law and local taxicab regulations. Kirby's contention that the city of San Francisco is responsible has some genuine merit in my opinion.

First, his comment that "government creates the reality" is very true. Reality for taxicab drivers and companies across the US has been established and enforced by city regulators to the detriment of the riders, the very people regulators claim to be protecting.

Regulations reducing competition and new entry have stifled the growth and innovation of the industry for decades and now the curtain has been lifted. Kirby is looking for the entity that created the problem to solve it with a new phone ap. I see the issue as one of misapplication of regulation.

If there are to be minimal regulations on "transportation network companies" then take off the cuffs and let's get to it. Continuing the limiting and expensive regulations on taxicabs is ensuring their doom.

Recently, an article reported the changes in the Los Angles taxicab code to cancel a driver's license if they were found to have refused service due to a rider's race or other criteria. The case stems from a refusal of service at LAX that was reported as racially motivated.

The driver in question says that the he refused the trip because it was too short. Now, while I've always thought that working the line at the airport line was a crap shoot, and I've also never refused a trip because it was too short, the driver's response is not at all uncommon for short trips.

Airports have had issue with this situation for decades, and the driver's response is nothing new. Some airports have short trip lines to speed up a driver's return for a fare if the first trip is short, others do not. The opinion of the stranded customer was that the issue was the passenger's race.

Now that we've had the city's knee jerk reaction to the "discrimination" my question would be how do you prove that? Can you get in the driver's mind? Will the driver be required to take a polygraph? Will the passenger be required to provide facts to prove his/her case or is this going to be an accusation of guilt?

What exactly is an accusation of guilt? You know, one of those accusations that you don't have to prove, just make. One of those accusations like Trump is a racist because he doesn't want uninterrupted illegal immigration and wants a pause in Muslim refugees until they can be vetted properly or when the driver is a minority driver as well.

We're not concerned with the absence of proof in this case, we're more concerned with the seriousness of the accusation. Skip the trial, let's just get to the hanging.

New York City is strapped for cash. So what do all good civic leaders do when they're down on their luck cash wise? Yep, they raise taxes. Some taxes are cleverly disguised as fees and fines, but they're just taxes for the guys getting stiffed at the end of the day.

NYC's Taxicab Limousine Commission has reportedly drawn the ire of a state senator. While the city is cranking up fines to scare up a little extra scratch, the senator is upset that the TLC won't "let them be in peace." So, what's the beef senator?

In one of the most regulated states in the nation why are we worried about more regulations? How about you just introduce a bill in the senate to disband the TLC? Nope, that's not going to happen. We just make a little noise and pretend that we're not really going to take action, but nothing. That's the way it goes, we're going to tell

you whatever you want to hear until we get elected, then nothing. I guess that's why Cruz and Trump scare the daylights out of the left and the right.

If you have any comments regarding this or any of my articles please feel free to contact me at don@mcacres.com.

—dmc