Temporary restraining order blocks Uber and others from New York City operations
Posted in: Today's Chili
In a move which should surprise no one who’s been following along, New York City livery car groups successfully won a bid yesterday afternoon for a temporary restraining order against New York City’s smartphone-based hail pilot program (“e-hails,” if you will). This effectively shuts down any (limited) plans UberTAXI and others had for getting back in business in Gotham — both Uber and Hailo are being stopped from operating in NYC as a result. Under the pilot program — approved earlier this year but mired in legal drama ever since — services like Uber and Hailo could be used in NYC’s approximately 13K yellow cabs. Livery cab businesses in NYC have sought to stop the program’s implementation via legal means. Its latest effort, the “application for interim relief,” was admitted via lawyer Randy Mastro of Gibson Dunn, and cites the following as its reason for the temporary restraining order:
“Absent emergency relief, petitioners and the public will suffer irreparable injury to their livelihoods, businesses and industry, fundamental rights and environmental interests, all of which will be impossible to remedy after this case is resolved in petitioner’s favor.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Software
Via: Bloomberg
Hailing a cab used to be physical, in a sense where you would personally need to queue up at the taxi stand, wait for your turn, and take whatever ride comes your way. With the invention of phones, we could then hail a cab from the comfort of our homes, placing a request for the cab to arrive at our doorsteps at a particular time. The advent of smartphones has brought hailing cabs to another level, where you can now book your cab from just about anywhere 
