Here.
"...the proposed rules would undo much of what is novel about these businesses.New taxi business models have the potential to increase choice and deliver what passengers want: shorter waiting times, lower prices and increased responsiveness...
Of course there is a role for regulation, especially where safety is an issue. But technologies, such as satellite navigation, cashless payment systems and user ratings platforms, have the potential to overtake the role of regulation, and safeguard consumers by empowering them with information.The guiding principle of a competitive market is that the consumer is in the driving seat. The job of a competition authority, therefore, is to consider the potential benefit to customers from innovations that enable them to exercise choice — and allow businesses, both new and established, to decide how best to meet demand.
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Consumers, who often benefit from technological disruption, can struggle to make their voices heard. But watch what they do, and their actions speak loud and clear.
By March this year, 25,000 people in Liverpool had reportedly downloaded the Uber app. The fact that the service had to wait until August to gain the local authority approval that it needed to begin operating might lead you to question how closely consumers’ preferences had been listened to.
This is not just about one company, one technology or one sector of the economy. New companies in every market will stand or fall on their ability to meet consumer demand — and those that succeed will, in turn, eventually be challenged by new business models.
This is how innovation leads to progress. We do not serve the interests of the public or the wider economy if we slam on the brakes."
