Is the taxi industry a prime example of why market economics do not work? All de-regulation has brought is hardship and underemployment for workers.

Are you referring to taxi drivers?

How are they workers? They look to me like self-employed capitalists, even if the state sets the rates they charge to the public.

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Romanes eunt domus

Individual taxi drivers cannot set prices. Those are set by the regulaor.

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And the chances of getting a ride home without having to que for 3 hours at a rank in the lashings of rain.

It is a prime example of what happens when a government approved cartel is broken. The Market gets flooded by people who still think of the money when the cartel was in operation and get dissapointed when they realise that thousands of other people had the same idea.

Ah but according to the regulator herself the customer can haggle with taxis on the ranks and bargain them down to a better price......*



*(Im not defending that point of view btw, it would cause murder on the ranks)

Is a taxi driver a member of the proletariat or the petit-bourgeoise?

Have you seen Dame Street in the small hours of the weekend lately ?
The only delay you'll experience is in the traffic chaos caused by about two hundred taxis doing u-turns & fighting over passengers.

The Regulator sets a maximum price - individual drivers are free to charge any price they want up to the maximum.

They've two problems - first they've no way to signal to customers they are charging less and competing on price. And second, they've to overcome the inertia in their own industry that dicates they must charge the max and discourages customer behaviour that might promote price competition such as not taking the the taxi at the head of the rank.

Deregulation has worked for me because there are plenty of taxis around, but not for drivers.

It has also failed because there is no competition, but this is not a failure of deregulation - it's a failure of the regulator, but that's what you get when it's staffed the way it is with staff who are unable or unwilling to act in the public interest.

TGPS

This Gruntled Public Servant

Last Saturday night, i got a taxi from Ballymun to tara Street. about 4 mile.
cost 22 euro.
i was in shock, gave the taxi man 20 and told him he wasnt getting the rest.

20 was about right if you phoned for it.

Taxi fare in Dublin from Ballymun to Tara Street - worldtaximeter