Monday, December 28, 2015

Offering better prices and service is not "fair"

This owner of a Jackson taxicab company whined to the city council on December 15 that Jackson doesn't need companies such as Uber and that the city keeps things "fair".  Watch the short video for yourself.  Here is what she considers to be fair:




*She and her fellow license holders (all of five) take turns sitting on the five-member board that issues licenses.  Two licensed operators serve on the board. Thus Ms. Jean and her fellow cab cartel members get to pick and choose who their competition can be - if they want to allow any competition at all.

*The city and board sets the taxicab fees. They set the rates for the entire market.  There is no competition when it comes to prices.  Period.

*The "fair" laws she wants to enforce mandate that someone can not obtain a license unless he owns at least EIGHT taxicabs.  She also considers it to be fair that the taxicab company be available 24 hours a day and seven days a week while maintaining a public office.

Tyra Jean's idea of "fair" is to play by her own set of rules that she gets to create and enforce.  She gets to keep potential competitors from getting a license or offering lower prices.   She thinks she is entitled to her poor man's oligopoly, customer's be damned.   Only someone such as Ms. Jean would think offering better prices and service is not fair.  If Ms. Jean can't compete, then perhaps she should not be in business. Notice there is one word never spoken by her: customer. 

Then there is the matter of taxicab drivers paying to drive cabs but that is a subject for another post.  Covering it in this one would not be "fair".

Note: The Jackson Free Press published a pretty good story about the whole controversy.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like she needs an education on the free market... competition is what is needed. Otherwise it's a system that the consumer will always lose. This woman sounds like an entitled bitch. Unfair... please. It's more than Fair and I lime Ubeet.

Anonymous said...

The year was 2081 and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal in every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of the agents of the United States Handicapper General.

-Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison Bergeron

Anonymous said...

It is ridiculous. She is the face of a dying business model.

If they want to be competitive, they should set accessible, standardized rates--this is something I actually wanted to look into.

If I knew for example that from

Belhaven to Fonderen -- $10
Belhaven to Downtown -- $10

etc etc.. I would absolutely use a cab along with my friends instead of risking drinking and driving. or just getting an uber. if they want to compete they should come up with standardized rates such as these and communicate to everyone that they are available. and adapt to where you can order a cab from twitter or something. there are ways for them to compete.

But instead I have no idea how much anything will cost. Not worth it.

Anonymous said...

I work close to the round about in Disneyland, and one day a client needed a ride to the airport. It was $60.00, plus tip. I know tell our clients that it is cheaper to rent a car.

Ain't riding in those nasty cabs said...

Uber is the hottest thing in transportation since the car was invented. When traveling businessmen, convention attendees or anyone from a major city lands at the Jxn airport, the first thing they do is open the Uber app to schedule a ride. Imagine how embarrassing it would be for us to not have Uber because, once again, it a race issue because the cab drivers are all black.

Anonymous said...

We took a cab from Belhaven to the Jackson airport. It costs $50. Will never do that again.

Anonymous said...

She is just following the good ole american way....if you can't compete, get the government to step in an protect you. Been going on for decades and its not just black folks that do it. Just look at the CON process in healthcare or the licencing requirements for hair braiding, all in the name of protecting consumers. Hogwash.

Anonymous said...

The fox is guarding the henhouse. Sounds like price-fixing to me. Not price regulation or price capping but price fixing to prevent any competition.
And you can't operate a cab unless you own 8 cabs and work 24 hours a day ? Sounds like she's trying to keep the little man down and, again, prevent any competition. How busy is the cab business after midnight anyway ? I know there are drunks etc who need a ride every now and then, but no doubt the demand is much lower late at night than during normal daily hours. Seems like she'd want less cabs operating at night, so there is more business for those like her who may want to operate 24 hours.
And of course, the city does nothing.

Anonymous said...

I've used Uber in other cities when traveling. You can expect a clean car, a polite driver, and a quick ride. Cabs make money by lingering the ride out, while an Uber driver makes more money by getting more rides. AND the Uber ride is usually 1/2 to 1/3 the price of a cab--even a 'livery' car in NYC.

Do the 'burbs' allow Uber? If so, just another reason to move your business out of Jackson...and thats exactly what Jackson does NOT need.

Anonymous said...

In her crazy idea of how markets should work, Jackson should only have five filthy restaurants with shitty food and poor service, but in all fairness they are ALL shitty and filthy and are allowed to meet in order to fix their prices to screw customers over. Instead of bitching about competition, improve your service and evolve your business model.

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2447438783001404385&postID=8691353043065817936&isPopup=true&bpli=1

Jackson City Council - I hope you can understand how ignorant you will look to the rest of the world if you create unreasonable barriers to competition in the Jackson market. Comparing Uber to a Taxi company is like comparing apples to pineapples...

Anonymous said...

Ever tried using a card to pay for a Jackson cab? It's not much less a pain than a DUI.

Anonymous said...

I took a "cab" from Amtrak to So JXN, it was 50.oo, I am all for UBER if there is a next time. Uh...it's called free enterprise

Anonymous said...

Very well said, 1:00pm

Anonymous said...

"It's not fair that the monopoly we have had for decades is being threatened, and we can't gouge our suckers, I mean customers, as much anymore!"

Anonymous said...

She and her fellow travelers serve only the Supreme Soviet of Taxi Cab monopoly Hell. Mr. Mayor, shut down her anti-competitive, un-American City sanctioned monopoly committee now! Toss the bumbs out and bring Uber and free enterprise in!!!

Anonymous said...

Will uber be available for NYE? If not, I need to book a hotel in NOLA. I'd much rather get drunk on bourbon st. anyway.

Yes/ no? Inquiring minds want to

Anonymous said...

I don't know how these ass backward cities can get away with refusing to allow UBER to operate. Used UBER in New Orleans and it was a great experience. Tried to use them on the Gulf Coast and they are not allowed to operate here. The Board of Supervisors appears to be protecting the taxi cab companies right to price fix.

Anonymous said...

You have an inferior product lady, get over it. Better yet, improve it. The Jackson taxi situation is an embarrassing joke: dirty, disgusting, untimely, and expensive.

Kingfish said...

The city council doesn't have the backbone to stand up to her or to fix this problem.

Anonymous said...

Ashby I know has no sympathy for an anticompetitive, price fixing cab cartel. Just hope he can convince the others.

Anonymous said...

Glad that the Queen and King up here (Mary & Gene) recognize the valuable asset of Uber. Phoney should take notes.

Anonymous said...

You sure uber serves Madison? Or even most of Ridgeland? https://www.uber.com/cities/jackson. Get a life, anti-Jackson troll.

Anonymous said...

2:03 pm:
Agreed, this woman is obviously riding a dinosaur of a business model and will ultimately be pushed out of the market by the likes of more efficient models like Uber, but your comparison to the CON process doesn't hold water. Private dollars pay for taxis, but over 90% of the payments to healthcare providers come from either the government (Medicare/Medicaid) or insurance companies that are regulated by the government.

Anonymous said...

It isn't that the city council does not have the back bone to stand up to the woman, they agree completely with the woman. How else would she get to be where she is today?

Anonymous said...

I recently used Uber for the first time while in New Orleans. It was better than any cab ride I have ever experienced. The car was clean and comfortable, the driver was friendly (and would talk if you wanted to talk or would be quiet if you wanted quiet), and as others have said, it was a fraction of the cost.

Are they regulated by some governmental authority? No. However, I feel the Uber model of passengers rating the drivers (and vice-versa) would help quickly weed out any drivers that provide less than an ideal experience.

Anonymous said...

934 am, get your facts right. Your statement that government picks up over 90% of healthcare costs is an out right lie and way off base. Who are you, Eddie Brunini?

Anonymous said...

I have used Uber in Ridgeland to take me to Madison. And returned for $12.

Anonymous said...

10:30, read my comment again… gov't and insurance. Oh, and your tax dollars if you account for the credit application/subsidy program at UMMC. At Skilled Nursing Facilities (also subject to CON requirements) the percentage is even higher.

Unknown said...

I think what the lady is saying is the government mandated rules and regulations the current cab companies have to abide by, for the safety of riders, make it impossible for the current cab drivers to compete to compete with unregulated Uber.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/19/the-ten-worst-uber-horror-stories.html

If Uber is allowed in Jackson see this cab companies adopting the un-regulated tactics. Good luck with that



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