If you order a Über car in Berlin, you will get a classic Berlin cream coloured Mercedes taxi instead. As in many other places special interest groups, politicians and bureaucrats are trying to stop market progress and competition. Sometimes they give somewhat understandable reasons such as insurance and tax issues. Sometimes they don’t.
But what is interesting is that still you will get a car, even though it might not be a black Über one. The service is being upheld, even if it’s only its interface that is used at the moment.
While it might be possible for local governments to prevent the ride-sharing side of Über (for the moment), the technical aspect of the concept seems to be unstoppable. Using the company’s smartphone app is much more cost efficient for taxi operators than having a telephone switchboard and some sort of local radio operated voice or data system to direct cars. And then there is the issue of not having to handle money or credit cards, as the payment function is already built into the system.
The Über concept also has proven to be popular with customers — as it is seen as easy to use, reliable, safe and hassle free. The same app can be used more or less worldwide
There is an underlying, slow but steady change towards a decentralized sharing economy in the western world. (Witch is was Über is really about.) This is a change of an entire market paradigm, allowing ordinary people to provide all different sorts of services to others. But for this to be a truly free and dynamic market it must be defended against over regulation and old business protectionism. For this to happen, it must be backed up by technical development.
It has been said that politics might overpower money — but that technology beats politics. This has proven to be right e.g. when it comes to the Internet, telecommunications and television. And it will be true when it comes to the emerging sharing economy — that is a yet fragile concept that politicians and bureaucrats cannot really get their heads around. (So they should keep out of it, but they rarely do.)
You can argue that cutting edge technology has become a prerequisite for economic freedom and evolution in today’s society. Which makes the fight for a free and open connected world even more important.
It might also be a good idea to hard-wire the new sharing economy with encrypted, decentralized digital currencies and payment methods, such as Bitcoin.
/ HAX
No. You are just wrong now.
Money trumps politics. ( “I do not care who writes the nation’s laws … “)
Politics trumps technology.
Just make the technology, or some aspect of it illegal, and no serious business will touch it. Usually the apparent success of technology happens when there is not sufficient political will to stop it.