John L. Smith is no longer with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, but a column of his was recently cited in a piece by the Guardian.
The story was about Uber, which has had a very bad month. The latest revelation is that Uber used software – called Greyball – to evade regulators.
Smith's 2014 piece was about how regulators conducted a SWAT-style stop on an Uber driver who was dropping off customers at a hotel. One of the customers, tellingly, worked for a cab company.
However, Smith points out that in 2014 Uber was not yet licensed by the state. Since it has been allowed to ferry passengers, there have been few regulatory tangles.
The question then is are they being over regulated?
Smith: “The answer is pretty much ‘no.’ The fact that is the NTA has it on its best day I think it has four investigators for the entire state. One of them has been embroiled in multiple DUIs and a criminal arrest. So on their best day, the NTA can’t regulate dozens, and dozens and dozens of drivers plus there is the enabling language in the law that has allowed Uber to essentially grow as it will and report what it wants. There is a lot of trust there that does not exist on the other side on the cab side. The cab side is pretty well regulated and although there are plenty of problems to point at there is also a long tradition of the Nevada Taxicab Authority essentially holding meetings and having regulations and a much larger investigative body. The cab police are out there looking at long hauling and looking at fares and things like that.”
Also, what's up with all the sexual harassment charges - and resignations. And does CEO Travis Kalanick really need to grow up - as he admitted after a run-in with a driver?
Smith: The fact is Uber is apparently run like a frat house. What is this “Animal House?” The lack of structure in the company is pretty clear. You don’t get rid of the CEO and creator. So, you wind up getting rid of vice presidents and underlings. It’s bad news but it’s not such bad news that people are suddenly not using Uber and going somewhere else for their ride share.
Uber insists it’s a technology company. The cab companies, of course, maintain it is a cab company with an easy-to-use app. So, is it a cab company?
Smith: In my vote, sure it’s a cab company. It’s figured out a way to get the drivers to essentially pay for their own vehicles. It’s pretty slick. It's clearly successful. There are plenty of drivers out there willing to live with those rules.
John L. Smith, contributor
