#62: Uber Surge and Price-Fixing

Tech Policy Podcast

TechFreedom

Technology

4.8 • 45 Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2016

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Uber’s surge pricing has come under fire — and not just from drunk passengers who paid exorbitant fares for rides home on New Years’ Eve. A new lawsuit alleges that Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and anyone who signs up to drive for Uber is party to an illegal conspiracy to fix prices. Is surge pricing just a reflection of supply and demand and economics 101? Or is it something nefarious. Jared Meyer, a research fellow at the Manhattan Institute joins the show to discuss. For more, see his article in Reason.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Tech Policy podcast.
0:09.8	I'm Evan Schwarger, your host.
0:11.5	On today's show, Uber Surge and Price Fixing.
0:15.4	Is Uber conspiring to fix ride-sharing prices?
0:18.7	Is its infamous surge pricing a basic market mechanism and a reflection of supply and demand,
0:24.1	economics 101?
0:25.3	Or is this an illegal pricing scheme?
0:27.6	Joining me to discuss this is Jared Meyer, a research fellow at the Manhattan Institute,
0:32.0	and author of Uber Positive, Why Americans Love the Sharing Economy.
0:35.9	Jared, thank you for joining me.
0:37.3	Hey, thanks for having
0:38.1	me, Evan. So, Jared, this is now your fifth appearance on the podcast, and would you say that
0:42.8	you have better engagement with this audience or you reach more eyeballs and ears than on Fox News?
0:48.8	I think it's getting close. I mean, if we looked at quality and how much they dive into the issues,
0:53.5	tech policy podcast
0:54.7	definitely has Fox News beat.
0:57.1	And do you think that the Fox News audience is more Uber savvy than Tech Policy Podcast audience?
1:03.2	I would hope not.
1:05.6	Well, let's get into it.
1:07.1	So Uber is being accused, or specifically CEO, Travis Kalanick.
1:12.4	Calenik. Calenic? All right. Whatever. You like the people who call De Blasio. DeBlazio.
1:18.5	I would never because the mayor of my city eats his pizza with a fork and a knife. So, but we'll
	...

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