The research cited below suggests that when Uber enters a city’s taxi market, other taxi drivers started being nicer, presumably in response to the additional competition. This is important, both for taxi users and for students of business ethics, who too often only hear about how competition drives bad behaviour. In this case, as in many others, competition is resulting in better service for customers. >>>
LINK: Uber Is Making NYC Cab Drivers Nicer (by Claire Landsbaum for NY Mag)
The data he gathered from Chicago’s taxi industry supports this conclusion. Chicago keeps records on the types of things its taxi patrons complain about: air-conditioning, “broken” credit-card machines, rudeness, cell-phone use, and the like. Notably, complaints about those four things (factors cab drivers can actually control) decreased in Chicago as Uber grew, but complaints about traffic and overcharging (things over which drivers have less control) didn’t. In other words, after Uber became a threat, cabbies appeared to be making more of an effort to give their patrons a pleasant trip….
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