Uber Scores Win Against 'Inferior' Taxis, Professor Says

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- Traditional taxi operators have claimed victory with legislation that would legalize Uber, Lyft and other ride-share companies in Maryland, but a University of Maryland professor at the Robert H. Smith School of Business tells the Baltimore Sun that the upstarts would welcome the new rules. "This is a win for Uber," says Brent Goldfarb, director of the school's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. "Putting in front of them an extra regulatory hoop or two to jump through isn't going to restrain them much. The basic model is approved."

The bill, which recently passed Maryland's Legislature and awaits Gov. Larry Hogan’s signature, would allow nontraditional ride-share services “to operate legally in the state under a far less burdensome regulatory structure than applies to traditional taxi companies,” the Baltimore Sun reports.

DCInno says the bill would create similar regulations to those put into place in Washington and Virginia within the last year, establishing a "transportation network services" regulation system different from the one for taxis. The bill would require companies such as Uber to register in a special category with Maryland's Public Service Commission.

Goldfarb tells the Baltimore Sun that whatever small regulatory relief the taxi companies receive in the legislation would mean little compared to the broad entry to Maryland markets granted to their largest competitors. "They've got to claim some victory, but this is a flat-out loss for them," Goldfarb says. "For a win they would have had to put real restrictions on Uber's ability to operate because they can't compete on product. They have an inferior product."

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