Uber and Lyft wouldn't exist if the Taxi system wasn't horrible beyond belief. Fix the medallion/license issues and they both go out of business. Otherwise, even if both ride sharing companies go out of business, people will still create some type of app to get around the shitty monopoly that is currently in place.

As far as trained professionals with background checks, yeah, a day's worth of training is amazing (sarcasm). Also, most taxi drivers go through a minimal (if any) amount of background checking. For instance, here in Austin, Tx, it was reported that fifty-three drivers who failed background checks to become Uber drivers had been issued chauffeur’s licenses by the City of Austin.

Bob you still haven't thought this idea through any further, its a terrible idea. I'll explain why but its probably going to be a bit long but bear with me and you'll understand why you are 'dead' wrong.

So "Bob's Law" is now in effect, Mr Bandito is in the back of a Taxi committing an armed robbery demanding the taxi driver hand over his money and valuables. Mr Bandito notices that the taxi driver has been getting looks at him in the rear view mirror. While the driver is nervously fumbling and trying to pull out the wallet he is sitting on in his back pocket, it crosses Mr Bandito's mind that "Bob's Law" is in effect and as soon as the driver hands him the wallet over Mr Bandito shoots and kills the taxi driver.

Mr Bandito did this because the punishment (death) is the same for robbing the driver as it is for murdering the driver. An alive taxi driver would make it easier for the police to catch him and Mr Bandito is of the same propensity as the folks that passed this law and so to him it now makes sense to kill all witnesses of an armed robbery as procedure, as the penalty is the same either way.

They won't have jobs because the automization of this country will leave them jobless. When Google makes truck drivers, taxi drivers, uber drivers obsolete, that's a few million jobs dead and gone forever. When every grocery store, fast food place, gas station and so forth are automated 100%, that's millions more. The ripple effect of 10 million + jobs gone in a few decades will cost millions more, the type that is higher paying.

So in other words @bobnight33 the economy is crashing under the free market 100%, so what is your solution?

What kind of douche drives a six-figure car and thinks it's a good idea to make a few bucks on the side stiffing hard-working taxi drivers out of their income?

I hope some drunk pukes all over his back seat.

There's nothing sifted because @lucky760 says it's snuff.

http://videosift.com/video/Taiwan-plane-crash-dashcam-video
http://videosift.com/video/TransAsia-Plane-Crash

Otherwise I'd have posted luckiest taxi driver in the world - http://youtu.be/SF9RLsizQ4c

True story: I once got tear gassed in Paris. I was in a taxi going down a narrow lane. The woman driving in front of us stopped to go into a bakery blocking traffic. When she came back out the taxi driver called her something unspeakable in French. She threw a canister at us and for the next 10 minutes I couldn't see and I could barely breathe.

Because of this, Paris is an awful place and I've never been back. That may not mean anything to you, but it made a difference in my life. So dismiss it as an anecdote all you want. But you'll never convince me or anyone else who went through this experience. Be thankful you never had to.

taxi drivers make good money

Perhaps I should've put this in the description... but Sabine Schmitz is (was?) a professional racing driver who has won the 24 hours Nürburgring endurance race twice (1996, 1997) and has completed more than 20,000 laps of the Norschleife (increasing at 1200 per year) in her occupation as "the fastest taxi driver in the world" (providing hot laps around the Norschleife). She also has a career as a tv presenter.

Ron Simons was also a racer in the 90s - http://www.gtspirit.com/2011/05/18/interview-ron-simons-rsr-nurburg-the-nurburgring/

None of the passengers had to pay, since he doesn't have a taxi driver's license, and in fact 5 of the 14 were paid to take part in the video!

"They're five ordinary people who were asked if they wanted to take part in a video for the Labour Party and who knew nothing else, except that they were going to be picked up in a taxi," party spokeswoman Pia Gulbrandsen said.

"Their spontaneity was real when they realised that the driver was the prime minister."

Our favorite taxi driver uploaded a massive rant yesterday, thought you might like it.

Wait, so "Taxi Driver" doesn't come on after this awesome introduction?

Lies!

You have been awarded 1 Power Point for fixing the embed code for Dead Pool video I'll Kill You! (Scene from Taxi Driver). Thank you for helping maintain VideoSift's reliability.

Old and fat now....but Taxi Driver DeNiro? Even Goodfellas DeNiro...shiiiiiiiiittt.

Frankly, this is a medium term problem. And drink driving too. In 15-20 years, we'll have self-driving cars (google, don't make me a liar) at which point, I will be able to go to the pub, get wasted and get driven home by my trusty auto-car.

And I will never again have to have another god awful conversation with a taxi driver. Bring it on...

7 more comments have been lost in the ether at this killed duplicate.