Last week’s announcement that the incumbent taxicab provider wants to mimic the business model of new ridesharing companies was none too surprising but a piece in the Economist magazine details how the ridesharing concept wants to use surge pricing at times at peak demand. It seems to be working to attract drivers to serve customers at what are termed by the article as “antisocial hours” with customers possibly paying more when the demand is high and the supply of drivers is low.
A model like that seems to solve the ever-present problem Pittsburgh has with its cab service, in which cars are dispatched yet when the cab does not show up the response is that drivers are independent contractors who decide where to go and when. The PUC seemed open to looking at its regulations on taxicabs and ridesharing and we recommended an examination of its policy statement on common carrier criteria, but it is not yet clear how surge pricing would fit into the overall model.
