If that's the case, why aren't taxi businesses owned by the public? What makes taxi services different than water, sewer and municipal bus systems?
We have taxi services monopolizing entire markets just like ISPs (http://dailysignal.com/2016/10/19/taxi-monopolies-hurt-oppor...). These "Technically public but actually privately owned" business model appears to be the worst solution for any sort of consumer of these services.
At least in my town (Munich) running busses from technical POV is done by private companies, following schedules setup by the city. The question there is who does the investment and what happens the bus after a few years.
For taxi private operators can make a business by offering additional services over the mandated taxi business (chauffeur services, longer term scheduled pickups, rides between municipalities, ...) The full picture is complex, though ...
Yeah, it's definitely more complex than I'm making it out to be, there will always be "boutique" offerings on the fringes of public markets, but if 90% of people need a service to be productive in the community, the answer should be to take it off the market.
If that's the case, why aren't taxi businesses owned by the public? What makes taxi services different than water, sewer and municipal bus systems?
We have taxi services monopolizing entire markets just like ISPs (http://dailysignal.com/2016/10/19/taxi-monopolies-hurt-oppor...). These "Technically public but actually privately owned" business model appears to be the worst solution for any sort of consumer of these services.