Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Trouble For Uber, Lyft; Banned From Newark Airport

Is this the start of more serious trouble for Uber and Lyft? The Newark taxi associations has clearly gotten to Newark officials.

NyPo reports:
Newark officials said Tuesday that they will make good on their threat to ban Uber cars from Newark Airport.

City officials said they will start penalizing any Uber or Lyft cars that try to pick up passengers at the Newark Airport terminals as of Tuesday. The city also plans to ban ride-share cars at Newark’s Penn train station.

The city first threatened the ban last week but then briefly backed off. It announced Tuesday that the ban was back on and would go into effect immediately.

Uber officials said they have asked the city officials to meet with them many times but were always rejected.

“We do not know why the city of Newark has flip-flopped and decided to once again target Uber despite the fact that more than 2,000 of the city’s residents depend on the app to make ends meet,” said Uber spokesman Matt Wing.

“We hope that Newark will again consider following the lead of the Port Authority and support the thousands of New Jersey residents who rely on Uber to earn income and the travelers who move through the airport every day.”
   -RW

2 comments:

  1. The ultimate solution would be a complete separation of business and government and getting them out of the business of airport operation would be a great first step. when pilots first began flying airports were popping up all over. A combination of economic factors, flat terrain and convenience were the deciding factors. Then politicians inserted themselves into the inevitable disputes which had been peacefully resolved and consolidation and centralization became the ruling factor. It had a better political payoff. But there is no reason airports have to be as big and as inhuman as Newark's. Economies of scale have limits and they have been far exceeded. If several airports replaced Newark's there would be less politicking (human nature suggests this will never go away) and absent government no way for cab unions to force Uber and Lyft out.

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    1. One needs must look no further than EWR's largest tenant for a lesson to be laid on the city numskulls and airport authority. Big Government tried it's damnedest to prevent FedEx from becoming a reality and the fight was led by regulators and airlines and the post office. Step aside and allow freedom to exist and the economy to thrive.

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