Uber

Since the advent of Uber, Lyft, and other Transportation Network Companies (TNC’s), taxi businesses like Los Angeles Yellow Cab have been exploring ways to reinvent their business models and claim back lost revenue from their new, less regulated competitors. Over the last decade, with the passage of AB1069 which eased regulatory burdens on Taxis and a pivot to more contract work, taxi cabs have begun to recover. On the other side of the street, TNCs are now looking to fill the gaps in their own service by teaming up with the once-upon-a-time enemy cab companies, with Uber and LA Yellow Cab being the most recent of those collaborations. VX News spoke with Bill Rouse, CEO of Southern California taxi operations, about his new partnership and the collaborative benefits to be seen by taxi operators. Rouse also addresses the taxi industry future, the not-so-threatening robotaxi business, and future groundside operations at LAX.

Autonomous vehicles are on the verge of redefining the role of streets in car-dominated Southern California. How will we plan for autonomous vehicles and connected fleets within our existing public transportation and civic infrastructure?

The rise of Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies (TNCs) dependent on online-enabled platforms to connect passengers with drivers is globally eroding the franchises of locally regulated taxis. Drawing on remarks recently on the VerdeXchange 2015 Conference panel “How Technology and Competitive Drive Are Reinventing Mobility and the Urban Environment,” Bill Rouse, General Manager of Yellow Cab of Los Angeles, and Gabe Klein, a Special Venture Partner at Fontinalis Partners with experience leading public-sector DOTs, offered VX News their perspectives. They address changes to the urban ground transportation system that unregulated competition is bringing to cities.