Posted by Matthew Carden.
Uber over the past few years has begun to take over for many taxis in many cities across the United States. In Newark, “There’s a war on wheels brewing outside the city’s two largest transit hubs.” This ordinance is referring to both Penn Station and the airport, where thousands of people travel to and from every day. In early January, Evans Anyanwu warned Uber that they were violating a city ordinance because the Uber cars are unlicensed taxis. Because of this, the City has said that they began towing cars on February 22 with no sign of ending the ban. The City was, “pushed largely by unions and other taxicab organization who say their profits have been cut by as much as 80 percent.” The taxi drivers had taken this into their own hands and were most likely the reason that an ordinance like this was put in place, because in January, they protested for regulation outside of Newark Airport.
Uber has not let this ban stop them from continuing their service throughout the Newark area. The article states that, “Uber, however, appears undeterred.” Instead of encouraging their drivers to stop, they have encouraged them to continue taking these routes. With Uber encouraging this practice, they may see their costs go up as they have promised to reimburse the drivers for anything that is to happen because of this ban. Uber in their statement in response to this said, “’Instead of trying to restrict competition and consumer choice, Newark should be welcoming the thousands of drivers who use Uber to earn income and support their families.’”
This situation could turn out to be either good or bad for Uber, but I believe the Newark is in the wrong here. The first question that comes to my mind when I read it is, how do they know it is an Uber? This is a case that Uber can most definitely win because this is similar to a case in New York verse the yellow cabs–and they won that.
Matthew is a sports management major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2019.