Progress marches on, at an ever increasing rate, and this is creating regulatory confusion in Mississippi as the new challenges the old.
Take Uber, for instance. If you don’t know what Uber is, you will. It started out as a simple ride sharing app a few years ago. Now Uber has a capitalization of more than $50 billion – more than Federal Express.
My first experience with Uber was a year or so ago while sitting at an outdoor cafe on a street corner in San Francisco. I kept noticing these cars pulling up to the side of the street and people getting out, without a word, and the driver immediately driving off. What’s that all about, I thought.
Weeks later, I figured it out – Uber! About that time, I was at Lou’s Full Serve in Belhaven when wife Ginny got an emergency call from daughter Ruth. As Ginny ran out, I shouted, “How do I get home?” She shouted back, “Uber.”
So right then and there, I downloaded the Uber app over my 4G C-Spire network. I put in a credit card, hit a button and within a few minutes a very nice car and driver was waiting outside ready to take me home. Amazing!
Using GPS, Uber knows where you are. You tell the app where you need to go. The Uber map shows the location of the nearest drivers. Hit a button and you can watch the nearest driver head your way. Uber calculates the time until arrival, usually just a few minutes.
The cost is about half the cost of a taxi ride. There is rarely tipping (although I have never known an Uber driver to turn down a tip). No money exchanges hands. The app bills your credit card. Uber keeps 20 percent and sends the rest to the driver. All you do is get in, say hi to the driver and get out when you arrive at your destination.
After your ride is over, you rate the driver and the driver rates you on a scale of one to five stars. Drivers below a 4.5 usually don’t get enough rides to make it worthwhile. I suppose riders with low ratings suffer high wait times.
In essence, Uber is the free market and technology at work. Two free individuals, a rider and a driver, making an individual decision of mutual benefit.
I now use Uber in Jackson for all sorts of things such as going to the airport or picking my car up from the shop.
As you can imagine, this new technology is completely disrupting the old regulated taxi model.
You would think a college town would be on the cutting edge of progress, but the city of Oxford responded to Uber by banning the service and threatening to arrest Uber drivers. Oxford city attorney Pope Mallette said Uber and its drivers apparently do not intend to comply with the taxi ordinances.
Oxford is not alone. Hundreds of cities in 45 nations in the world are dealing with this very issue right now. Jackson is included. The issue may be a source of debate in the upcoming legislative session.
Uber’s strategy is to politely work with the government while using its enormous popularity to put political pressure on elected leaders to not ban the service.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the taxi driver unions initially opposed Uber, but had to back down due to voter anger. Uber also won a victory in the New York courts where a judge ruled, “Any expectation that the taxi medallion would function as a shield against rapid technological advances of the modern world would not have been reasonable.”
Here’s the problem. The traditional taxi service is regulated in numerous ways: They are required to maintain special insurance. They must pay a permit fee. Their drivers must hold a commercial license, undergo background checks and get drug tested.
Uber has procedures to ensure safety, but Uber resists local taxi regulations, arguing it’s merely a ride sharing service.
Jackson City Council President Melvin Priester said he doesn’t want to see Uber shut down because of over-regulation. Councilman Ashby Foote said his goal was a level playing field.
It is an age-old question about the role of government in society. Do we need government to protect us? Or should we let the free market sort it out? Should free individuals be allowed to make their own decisions?
A similar regulatory debate is going on with telemedicine in Mississippi. Several new companies are attempting to control medical costs by challenging the typical patient-doctor model with technology.
Instead of a trip to the doctor, patients with a variety of ailments can use an app to communicate electronically with a doctor who can assess their situation, make a diagnosis, recommend a course of action and prescribe medicine. These initiatives are running afoul of certain regulations of the Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure.
Fast-growing Teladoc contracts with businessess to offer telemedicine to control the health care costs of their employees. Teladoc operates in 49 states, charges $40 a month and has 68,000 members in Mississippi.
Teladoc and the state licensure board are butting heads on two issues: The licensure board is insisting on a video conference before medicine can be prescribed. Teladoc believes an audio conference is sufficient. Second, the licensure board wants Teladoc to contract with a local doctor for every patient it treats. Teladoc believes this interferes with the normal patient-doctor relationship. Teladoc argues that most of its members already have relationships with primary care physicians.
Teladoc is armed with multiple studies showing the effectiveness of their telemedicine model. It’s less costly, equally effective and more quickly responds to patient needs, especially after hours and on weekends. The studies show 92 percent resolution of health care issues and 95 percent patient satisfaction.
Uber and Teladoc’s business models are a sign of the times. There will be more to come. Just look how technology has changed the delivery of news and information. The core elements of this change are lower cost and faster service. Isn’t that progress?
I am not a libertarian. I believe there is a role for government regulation. However, on these two issues, I’ll take freedom over government regulation any day of the week.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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