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- Feb 17, 2009
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As one who has been self-employed for the better part of my working life, I applaud the writer of the letter “Cab companies, Government should embrace competition” (Oct 13).
Competition is essential to the well-being of an economy and, ultimately, the rest of society in terms of inspiring constant improvement. History has shown that institutions that do not face competition end up becoming obsolete or extinct.
To make industries more innovative, introduce more competition, so that companies wanting to stay in business work harder and smarter for customers, or someone else will.
The same is true for making workers more productive: People work harder and better if their jobs can go to someone else who will.
The case for opening up industries to competition is clear. The telecommunications industry is a prime example: While consumers have become the chief beneficiary through cheaper, better services, there have been other benefits.
To stay competitive, the telcos had to develop talent, leading to more and better jobs being created, which was not the case before competition. Shareholders have benefited, as all three telcos have had to watch their financial resources more carefully.
Even the former monopoly holder has benefited. Instead of being holed up in the domestic market, Singtel was pushed to expand overseas and become a major regional player.
What is there not to like about competition? Why should the taxi industry be different from any other industry that has been opened up to competition? Already, competition from Uber has encouraged the taxi companies to embrace phone applications as part of their business strategy. Signs of the benefits of competition are showing.
Two serious issues with competition come from the fact that Uber drivers, unlike conventional cabbies, are unregulated and unlicensed. This leads to the argument of public safety and how traceable Uber drivers are. An alleged rape in New Delhi comes to mind. The other issue is that Uber drivers need not go through tests that traditional cabbies must, leading to calls that competition is unfair.
The solution is simple: Anyone wishing to drive for Uber should have to register with the authorities. This would put some controls on who drives for Uber. Furthermore, the act of registering would encourage people to behave.
The second solution is to urge traditional cabbies to use Uber, thus increasing their potential pool of passengers. This may even benefit conventional taxi firms as their driver pool increases. The case for competition is clear; it should be embraced.
http://www.todayonline.com/voices/taxi-users-will-benefit-more-competition
Competition is essential to the well-being of an economy and, ultimately, the rest of society in terms of inspiring constant improvement. History has shown that institutions that do not face competition end up becoming obsolete or extinct.
To make industries more innovative, introduce more competition, so that companies wanting to stay in business work harder and smarter for customers, or someone else will.
The same is true for making workers more productive: People work harder and better if their jobs can go to someone else who will.
The case for opening up industries to competition is clear. The telecommunications industry is a prime example: While consumers have become the chief beneficiary through cheaper, better services, there have been other benefits.
To stay competitive, the telcos had to develop talent, leading to more and better jobs being created, which was not the case before competition. Shareholders have benefited, as all three telcos have had to watch their financial resources more carefully.
Even the former monopoly holder has benefited. Instead of being holed up in the domestic market, Singtel was pushed to expand overseas and become a major regional player.
What is there not to like about competition? Why should the taxi industry be different from any other industry that has been opened up to competition? Already, competition from Uber has encouraged the taxi companies to embrace phone applications as part of their business strategy. Signs of the benefits of competition are showing.
Two serious issues with competition come from the fact that Uber drivers, unlike conventional cabbies, are unregulated and unlicensed. This leads to the argument of public safety and how traceable Uber drivers are. An alleged rape in New Delhi comes to mind. The other issue is that Uber drivers need not go through tests that traditional cabbies must, leading to calls that competition is unfair.
The solution is simple: Anyone wishing to drive for Uber should have to register with the authorities. This would put some controls on who drives for Uber. Furthermore, the act of registering would encourage people to behave.
The second solution is to urge traditional cabbies to use Uber, thus increasing their potential pool of passengers. This may even benefit conventional taxi firms as their driver pool increases. The case for competition is clear; it should be embraced.
http://www.todayonline.com/voices/taxi-users-will-benefit-more-competition
