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EngineerJoe posted:I love the cabs in NYC. You pay using the touch screen in the back and you don't have to deal with the cabbie at all. It's wonderful. The cab agency just liked the Heavy metal movie
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Jan 27, 2014 07:11
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Fuzzy Mammal posted:I was in zurich on business and took a cab to the hotel and the guy didn't even have a reader. Even a manual one. This was not super recent though, about 2009 or so. I didn't have euros or any local currency at all since I had just landed. So he's like, "How much to you have in american?" "Forty bucks." "Okay I'll just take it all." Yeah that was interesting. Ugh, you should meet the loving English. London's black cabs can gently caress right off.
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Jan 27, 2014 07:18
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In the UK, at least they don't falsely advertise that they'll take cards. The Toronto guys will straight up lie to your face. I've also had my card number stolen by taxis more times in Toronto than anywhere else.
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Jan 27, 2014 08:11
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Man.. all the cabs here in Victoria take cards and have for a long time and never give anyone fuss for paying that that. This is Canada, we pay for EVERYTHING with a card. We're #1!
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Jan 27, 2014 08:15
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Toronto sounds like the worst place in canada. Why does anyone live there
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Jan 27, 2014 08:29
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Christ, does every Canadian politics thread have to descend into pointless derails? Anyone want to share their thoughts on French-speaking cab drivers?
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Jan 27, 2014 08:45
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At least they are polite derails.
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Jan 27, 2014 08:56
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Oh man, the cab monopoly, that poo poo drives me up the wall even moreso than the Port Mann. I seriously don't understand how this isn't an illegal cartel with government backing from what I can only assume are even more illegal government bribes (or technically more legal campaign funding related  "bribes" ).Like, ok there is clearly the same poo poo going on for stuff like liquor licenses are food carts (i.e. those that have them fighting tooth and nail against issuing more of them). But at least for those one can at least put on the veneer of legitimacy by claiming that it can disrupt neighbourhoods or some poo poo. But cabs? What the gently caress is the point of limiting cabs? Cabs are an important part of the transport mix. They can handle the last mile of otherwise public transit in spread out difficult to cover areas. They are obviously quite necessary for getting drunk people around late at night when services have to be shut down for maintenance. They keep cars off the road and they save loving lives by providing a getting all the "i can totes still drive" dudebros home safely. They use their own loading areas anyway so it's not like they take up parking spaces or anything else. It's loving inexcusable. Uber & co are a way of side-stepping the issue sure but you're basically skirting the law when it's obvious the law just needs changing instead. Urgh!
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Jan 27, 2014 21:52
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Mr. Wynand posted:Uber & co are a way of side-stepping the issue sure but you're basically skirting the law when it's obvious the law just needs changing instead. Urgh! There are tons of examples of obviously-suboptimal laws that nevertheless remain on the books. They are impossible to change because they are (a) politically unpalatable to tackle, or (b) they enrich/empower a special interest at the dilute expense of everyone else, and that special interest will fight tooth and nail to keep the status quo. The situation with cabs is a clear example of (b). It's very hard to change these entrenched legal situations without 'disruptive' (an overused term, but it's totally accurate in a case like this) solutions like Uber.
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Jan 27, 2014 22:23
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Mr. Wynand posted:Oh man, the cab monopoly, that poo poo drives me up the wall even moreso than the Port Mann. Limiting cabs is the one way to make sure that cab operators make enough money and avoid a tragedy of the commons and a race to the bottom. It is pretty much the equivalent of minimum wage for cab companies. It is a balancing act between the public and the operators.
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Jan 27, 2014 22:27
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That's an inappropriate characterization of a tragedy of the commons. There is no 'scarce, shared resource' that would be used up by excess cab drivers. This sort of logic inevitably ends up in the average consumer getting hosed. See also: Canadian dairy, realtors. edit: For perspective, I've always thoroughly held the following Adam Smith quote to be true, important, and even self-evident - though it clearly doesn't get much weighting in contemporary Canadian society: quote:Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production; and the interest of the producer ought to be attended to, only so far as it may be necessary for promoting that of the consumer. Lexicon fucked around with this message at 22:56 on Jan 27, 2014 |
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Jan 27, 2014 22:42
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Sovy Kurosei posted:Limiting cabs is the one way to make sure that cab operators make enough money and avoid a tragedy of the commons and a race to the bottom. It is pretty much the equivalent of minimum wage for cab companies. not sure what all this cab-talk has to do with a housing bubble but to continue the derail, what they need to crack down on is the reselling of the cab licenses that apparently goes on. It seems more responsible than anything for that race to the bottom you mention. The article I read talked about Vancouver cab licenses costing just a few hundred dollars but they are all locked up by a certain set of people who then turn around and re-sell them to cab operators for 10's of thousands of dollars. To the point that cabbies have to split the cost between multiple people (one driver runs one 12 hour shift and another runs the next). They have to work pretty much 12 hours every day just to make a living plus pay off the astronomical cost of the license. http://thedependent.ca/featured/taxiland/
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Jan 27, 2014 22:42
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Edit: I'm out.
Sovy Kurosei fucked around with this message at 22:58 on Jan 27, 2014 |
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Jan 27, 2014 22:55
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Sovy Kurosei posted:Limiting cabs is the one way to make sure that cab operators make enough money and avoid a tragedy of the commons and a race to the bottom. It is pretty much the equivalent of minimum wage for cab companies. Yes - companies. The drivers themselves still get paid dick. The companies don't loving need minimum wage, if we're ok with them paying their cabbies dirt then I sure as poo poo am ok with them to race to the darkest deepest bottom pit profit-wisely. If we want a minimum wage for cabbies we can impose, gently caress I dunno, a minimum wage for cabbies. Or better yet, just run it all by translink and have them join the union. Squibbles posted:what they need to crack down on is the reselling of the cab licenses that apparently goes on Isn't that perfectly legal, working as intended?
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Jan 27, 2014 23:04
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Cabs are for the commoners.  Has there been a crash yet? I want to buy.
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Jan 27, 2014 23:09
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Now you've gone and reminded me that The Dependent is dead. One of the best investigative journalism rags we had going, while it was active. 
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Jan 27, 2014 23:10
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Also,Lexicon posted:There are tons of examples of obviously-suboptimal laws that nevertheless remain on the books. They are impossible to change because they are (a) politically unpalatable to tackle, or (b) they enrich/empower a special interest at the dilute expense of everyone else, and that special interest will fight tooth and nail to keep the status quo. The situation with cabs is a clear example of (b). It's a sort of last ditch solution sure, but it is really not the preferable one. Cab regulation does more than enforce those lovely licenses, they make it so they have to take your visa card, they can't drop you off in the middle of nowhere, they can't discriminate against you based on race and a bunch of other crap. They also require a fair amount of data about the cab drivers so it's harder to get quietly raped/murdered if you get in the wrong cab.
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Jan 27, 2014 23:23
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Mr. Wynand posted:Also, Oh for sure. I'm certainly not suggesting that we get rid of [many very sensible] regulations here. I guess the appropriate analogy might be bakeries (or any sort of food production really): we allow anyone to open a bakery and run it so long as they adhere to various rules regarding food safety, worker safety, worker compensation, etc. This system manages to work pretty drat well without also introducing a system of bakery medallions which are traded back and forth and which limit the quantity of bakeries in a given area.
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Jan 27, 2014 23:31
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Right, yes, that would be the sensible way of doing things.
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Jan 27, 2014 23:35
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The PM of Canada has some reassuring words for us all.Lost in taxi monopoly chat posted:Prime Minister Stephen Harper says rising household debt levels are “not a reason to panic,” but urged Canadians to consider what will happen when interest rates rise in the coming years.  Perhaps it is just me, but when Dear Leader tells us that there is no reason to panic it's kind of less reassuring that I think he is intending it to be.
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Jan 28, 2014 01:26
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ocrumsprug posted:The PM of Canada has some reassuring words for us all. Stephen Harper uttered these words in 2008 posted:While it has slowed down considerably, and while there remains this considerable instability, the American economy has not crashed, has not itself entered into recession.
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Jan 28, 2014 01:31
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Cultural Imperial posted:I went to First Tech Credit Union in Seattle today to get pre-approved for a mortgage. The rules that have been created to prevent another housing meltdown are quite remarkable. Some things that stood out in my head: When I moved down a few years ago, I just gave them a copy of my Canadian credit report. They were fine with that. 3.25%, bitches. You'll like First Tech, they're pretty good.
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Jan 28, 2014 01:37
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Pixelboy posted:When I moved down a few years ago, I just gave them a copy of my Canadian credit report. They were fine with that. daaaaaaaaaaamn One of my friends was telling me that he's more excited about me moving to Seattle than I am. My g/f's sister in law is literally foaming at the mouth over all the poo poo on etsy she can get me to mule for her.
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Jan 28, 2014 03:35
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ocrumsprug posted:The PM of Canada has some reassuring words for us all. I haven't been able to find any analysis of Canada's housing market that originates from outside the country that is concluding that anything resembling a soft landing is even remotely possible. On the other hand, every single motherfucker in Canada is calling for a soft landing or stability or 25% gains in the next 25 years. That is a de facto conclusion that no 'analyst' or 'business leader' or politician in Canada has an iota of intellectual or academic honesty when it comes to this loving market.
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Jan 28, 2014 03:40
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Cultural Imperial posted:I haven't been able to find any analysis of Canada's housing market that originates from outside the country that is concluding that anything resembling a soft landing is even remotely possible. On the other hand, every single motherfucker in Canada is calling for a soft landing or stability or 25% gains in the next 25 years. “So look, it’s not a reason to panic; in fact, we’ve actually seen Canadian debt beginning to level off. But we would obviously encourage people to look at their debt levels carefully. Eventually, it may not be for two, three years, but eventually interest rates will start to rise. And Canadians should ask themselves serious questions about if interest rates came up significantly, would I still be able to afford my debt payments?”
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Jan 28, 2014 05:04
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When motherfuckers are leading audis on 80k a year salaries, you know those idiots aren't thinking, you know, long term.
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Jan 28, 2014 05:20
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So what's going to happen when the construction industry inevitably implodes during the bubble pop, doubling the unemployment rate overnight? With all the low-end jobs taken by TFW's, and those construction workers leveraged to the teeth with debt, we're in for a rough ride.
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Jan 28, 2014 06:40
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Rime posted:So what's going to happen when the construction industry inevitably implodes during the bubble pop, doubling the unemployment rate overnight? With all the low-end jobs taken by TFW's, and those construction workers leveraged to the teeth with debt, we're in for a rough ride. 1. Rampant anti immigration 2. You think Cummins or wild rose party were a flash in the pan? 3. Rob Ford makes it to federal politics.
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Jan 28, 2014 07:33
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It's all unions and over-paid government employees fault. We need lower taxes to allow the job creators to innovate our way out of this mess. The environment needs to take a back seat to the economy. Entitled people thought they were entitled to fancy housing and it's all their fault for being so entitled. Austerity austerity austerity!!!!
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Jan 28, 2014 07:55
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Adopt the British solution: impose a de facto national moratorium on new house building for a few decades and then encourage rapid population growth so that housing demand rapidly outstrips supply, establishing the bubble position as a genuine new normal rather than a doomed fever dream. Works great!
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Jan 28, 2014 08:56
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Baronjutter posted:Entitled people thought they were entitled to fancy housing and it's all their fault for being so entitled. Well, this is partially true at least.
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Jan 28, 2014 09:26
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Hey, check out this castle in NB that costs less than most houses in Vancouver.
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Jan 28, 2014 18:56
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Desmond posted:Hey, check out this castle in NB that costs less than most houses in Vancouver. $700k to buy, $70k/year to maintain.
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Jan 28, 2014 18:58
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LemonDrizzle posted:$700k to buy, $70k/year to maintain. You can't put a price on having to live in Moncton.
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Jan 28, 2014 19:50
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LemonDrizzle posted:$700k to buy, $70k/year to maintain. But there's so many rooms you could rent out!
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Jan 28, 2014 20:03
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I always thought people in real-estate might follow other markets besides their own stomping grounds, but I've spoken with two so far who had no idea about the exorbitant prices property is going for in Canada right now. They weren't very inclined to agree that it was evidence of a bubble, either. Lots of rhetoric similar to what people up north are spouting, but I guess if you have no background knowledge of why it might have gotten to that point, it's pretty easy to get on board with "really nice scenery", etc.
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Jan 28, 2014 21:32
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French Canadian posted:I always thought people in real-estate might follow other markets besides their own stomping grounds, but I've spoken with two so far who had no idea about the exorbitant prices property is going for in Canada right now. They weren't very inclined to agree that it was evidence of a bubble, either. Lots of rhetoric similar to what people up north are spouting, but I guess if you have no background knowledge of why it might have gotten to that point, it's pretty easy to get on board with "really nice scenery", etc. I don't think realtor-types are especially well-known for their ability to make a sober analysis about the health of a real estate market, especially one outside their own 'jurisdiction'. This isn't a group of economists or financial mathematicians we're talking about here - their profession's primary valued competency seems to be in generating adjectives for countertops or flooring.
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Jan 28, 2014 21:39
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Upton Sinclair posted:“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
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Jan 29, 2014 00:19
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Lexicon posted:I don't think realtor-types are especially well-known for their ability to make a sober analysis about the health of a real estate market, especially one outside their own 'jurisdiction'. This isn't a group of economists or financial mathematicians we're talking about here - their profession's primary valued competency seems to be in generating adjectives for countertops or flooring. It's basically like trusting bob the honest used car salesman to not sell you a lemon.
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Jan 29, 2014 02:28
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etalian posted:It's basically like trusting bob the honest used car salesman to not sell you a lemon. Can you imagine if the public started crying out to the government to protect the interests of used car salesmen to keep the price of their cars from declining?
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Jan 29, 2014 02:36
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