Hmmm, with a libertarian-type moniker like yours you might want to reconsider this whole thing. The only reason that we are having this debate is because cab-drivers are heavily regulated and specifically licensed. Supposedly this is for our benefit. Cabs are public accommodations when they shouldn’t be.
Why can’t anybody just go buy a suitable vehicle and start hauling people for money? I visted Moscow a few years ago and it seemed like half the population with a vehicle was ready and willing to haul somebody else for money. I rode in little tiny cars with big guys in overalls and in Mercedes limos driven by guys in expensive suits.
We are focused on this guy because we don’t think its reasonable for him to refuse to put a dog in his car. I’m not anti-dog but what if the dog is wet? What about non-guide dogs? Can a cabbie refuse?
What about the cabbie’s right to refuse other types of riders? Cab drivers suffer one of the worst work related injury and death rates in the country due to violence yet are under pressure to pick up people they don’t trust and take them places they don’t want to go in order to keep their jobs.
If I was the guy I would probably want to compile a list of drivers that I trusted and make arrangements. If the industry weren’t so regulated he could probably get a regular driver who would haul him around. I probably couldn’t work as a cab driver because I pretty much would want the final say over who I picked up and who I didn’t.
I’ve expounded on this point ad nauseum before, but to summarize, in many cities — like NYC, where I live Monday-Friday — having safe, reliable cabs is really important to the overall economy. Many years ago, when I was young and naive, I got into an unlicensed van that was picking people up at a train station. I got lucky, they tried to get a lot of cash, and ended up getting about 3 times what I would have paid a normal cab, but I didn’t get beaten, get my entire wallet and luggage taken, etc. There were 4 of them, the driver and 3 others who were posing as picked-up passengers but weren’t.
It is absolutely, utterly unsafe and stupid to get into a vehicle with an unknown person unless there is clear evidence that the vehicle and the person have been screened and are subject to ongoing monitoring. And lots of people need to take cabs in situations where they can’t make prior arrangements with a private car service and ascertain that it’s safe and trustworthy. I’m not a GovernmentEliminator, I’m a GovernmentShrinker, and regulating cabs is a legitimate function of government, because it benefits virtually everybody, directly or indirectly. The NYC system leaves a good deal of free market competition within the system, while maintaining an appropriately sized fleet of cabs that are well-maintained, and almost without exception driven by mentally stable and non-criminal people.
Sure, cities could solve the discrimination problem by completely taking over the cab business and making it like city bus service -— city-owned vehicle, city-employed driver and mechanics, etc. But a regulated private system involves less government intrusion and is preferable. All cities that regulate cabs also provide for private car services, that are subject to almost no regulation beyond individual citizens driving their own cars. People whose religious beliefs prevent them from picking up all members of the general public can work for those if they like. But if they want the reliable income of a regulated street-hail cab driver, without having the years of experience and connections necessary to get a job with a high-end private car service, they should be required to serve the entire public. They should also be free to carry guns, to protect themselves from the criminal element of the general public, but that’s another story.