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Originally Posted by Idle
The get a crash course in why cities started to regulate Taxi service check out a Cagney film, The Roaring Twenties.
It can get ugly out there on the streets when there is lots of money involved.
Anyone could run a Taxi service back then. Of course anyone could also meet with an 'accident' if they tried to go it alone. When the Mob found out how easy it was to squeeze individual drivers cities stepped in to regulate the business in the hopes of driving out the crime bosses.
But that was then and this is now and times have changed. When you start building your own airports you can start making your own rules. Just make sure your place is so remote no other aircraft ever come into the area since they are like cars on the highway and follow the rules of the road.
You are also free to build your own highway. All it takes is money.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Idle
And.....
The main competition for Taxis in the old days was the trolly car service. They were regulated by cities because they used city streets. Cities also set their fares.
But a trolly could not take you to your front door so when they started to feel the heat from taxi companies they demanded the cities step in and level the playing field.
And when a city was faced with losing the trolly or passing a few taxi regulations the regulations won out.
And once a government body was set up to regulate anything.......
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I can understand some of the historic reasons, but it seems like they are (wait for it...) history. Policing of criminal activity will of course still be needed, but that's true of just about everything.
I think it's that last line, the one I bolded, that applies the most. Like many things, I see the history behind things, and acknowledge how we got here, but I'm not understanding why, once we've got a handle on the thing(s) that was causing us problems, we continue to spend such time and effort on the "fix".
MV