Excerpt
GWEN IFILL (NewsHour): Is the traditional taxicab becoming an endangered species? In the age of the smartphone, it’s more and more likely, as consumers trying to get from here to there opt for technology-driven ride-sharing.
Economics correspondent Paul Solman takes us along on the ride as part of his ongoing reporting Making Sense of financial news.
PAUL SOLMAN (NewsHour): The long-regulated taxi industry and its drivers are under siege.
AMILCAR PEREIRA, DeSoto Cab Driver: These guys just jump in their car, go out there and providing the same service that we are, totally unregulated, totally unsafe. It’s not fair.
MAN: OK. You got it. We’re on the way.
PAUL SOLMAN: It’s a classic fight between regulatory tradition and technological disruption. And drivers like these, who work for San Francisco’s oldest cab company, are caught in the crossfire.
MUAFFAQ MUSTAFA, DeSoto Cab Driver: I feel like I’m — just been betrayed. I have been a driver for 20 years. I give up half my life for this industry.
PAUL SOLMAN: The Uber system allows riders to request drivers at any time. You have probably heard of this tech threat, even if you haven’t used it yet. Uber, a mobile phone app which connects passengers with non-cabbie drivers for hire, a new surge of competition on the road, unregulated.
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