Cab-in Fever
By: Mr. Wilson on
January 6, 2012
All you folks who've been itching for better taxi options in Lincoln are probably giddy over news that three Omaha-based cab companies have submitted applications to service Lincoln. Indeed this is good news, but let's not get too excited just yet.
For one thing, there's exactly zero chance that four separate cab companies can be successful in Lincoln at the same time. The economics of it don't make sense. Don't be surprised if one or more of the newcomers doesn't even finish the application process. Entering a new market is a risk. Entering a new market at the exact same time as two other competitors is insane. Methinks we're going to witness a game of chicken. Will anybody blink? Or will all three new companies be stubborn and go ahead and start serving Lincoln, only for one or more of them to bow out later?
Also remember that Lincoln's service provider can protest the applications, dragging them into a lengthy legal process. That's what happened back in 2006 when OMALiNK tried to enter the Lincoln market. At that time, would-be competitors used a number of lame arguments for keeping OMALiNK out. They all boil down to simple protectionism: existing companies want the Public Service Commission to protect them at the expense of newcomers and, arguably, consumers.
For as many complaints as there are about cab service in Lincoln, it boggles my mind that the current provider, Servant, hasn't increased service availability. There are two possibilities. One is that Servant is run by incompetent baboons who wouldn't recognize an opportunity to grow their business if it stared them in the face. The other is that the opportunity for expansion in Lincoln isn't as lucrative as a group of intoxicated frat boys would like to believe. As with most things I suspect the truth lies somewhere between those two extremes. A year from now we'll have a better feel for the answer.