Uber sued by San Francisco, Los Angeles for misleading riders
The DA’s actions are the latest in a long line of controversies and kerfuffles swirling around the ride-sharing world, particularly in the intense rivalry between Uber, the largest company, and second-place Lyft. Companies have been accused of trying to steal each other’s drivers, while critics blast the industry as out-of-control capitalism and some passengers complain about being gouged. This latest move by authorities trying to come to grips with a burgeoning and brand-new industry is par for the course, says Andrew Moylan, executive director of the The R Street Institute, a free-market think tank in Washington, D.C.
“Yes, we’re seeing creative destruction as these companies disrupt the taxi industry,” he said. “But we’re also seeing creative destruction on the regulatory side as cities try and find out what the boundaries are and what problems they might run into as this new industry evolves.”
Moylan said that while the public is entitled to transparency, for example, in how the ride-sharing companies charge their passengers, “at the same time we’re seeing a knee-jerk anti-competition sentiment, much of it driven by a taxi industry that wants to take its competitors down a notch.”
