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Comment by flexie | Hacker News Reader

I really don't see why taxis or Uber should be allowed, at least if they are not fully electric. They are often larger than private cars, and they drive only the chauffeur and typically one grown up customer around, who could easily have walked, taken the metro or a bus. Half the time they are just waiting around for customers while the engine is on so the chauffeur can cool down or warm up inside.

A better exception would be EVs. Then lower their speed limit to 20 or 30 km/h in the city center, narrow car space to one lane in each direction, and free up the rest of the space on the streets for pedestrians, bikes, electric scooters, etc.

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Not everyone is capable of walking long distances, using bikes or electric scooters. Taxis are a form of public transport.

I'm not saying everyone who uses them needs to use them, but if you ban them outright you ban certain people outright, which is discrimination in the absence of alternatives.

Amsterdam in particular (mentioned in the GP) has excellent metro and tram networks, so you never have to walk far if you don't want to.

That said, the trams can still be really awkward if you're disabled, particularly if you're in a wheelchair as, somewhat incredibly in this day and age, not all trams are wheelchair friendly. And on those that are, you are reliant on the conductor to manually push out a ramp for you.

I do also agree that taxis are a form of public transport, and I don't personally think they should be excluded from places that buses and trams are permitted.

> in the absence of alternatives

Can't make this argument any longer. Plenty of electric vehicles which can serve as taxis, and in the UK they manufacture one especially for the purpose. [1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEVC_TX

At least in the US, you could make a compromise along ADA lines.

Maybe I'm ignorant of this exact situation, but if it's only one road that's closed, shouldn't the other roads be close enough? What stops a car from entering an alley so someone with limited mobility can enter it?

Should they blow up all hotels in the city centres?

Some people have 2-3 bags. Good luck rolling them around on cobblestone streets during a rain storm

Electric taxis, metro etc.

Stop packing so much crap when you travel. You don't need it. I can fit everything I need for a 2-week trip in a backpack.

Sounds like you aren't traveling with a baby or young kids.

Travelling with small kids with a small backpack is very liberating, a paperclip solves most problems if you are a hacker even when handling small kids. It's more of an attitude than anything.

Trip? Son I need to buy 3 boxes of bagels and donuts for work, plus 2-3 boxes of brewed coffee, and maybe pick up or drop off some camera/recording equipment. This isn't backpacking, this is a weekly meeting.

I'm glad you can fit your life in a backpack but that's not realistic for many day-to-day situations.

We call them "carts". They have four wheels, let you haul around a lot on foot and have been in use for centuries.

Well, don’t buy bagels and donuts and coffee. I don’t do lunch and I also skip breakfast on odd days. I’m also constantly in motion, like, right now, I’m doing leg lifts that are imperceptible to the the human eye - I call them hummingbirds. You really should stop cultivating mass, and start harvesting.

For city centers, rickshaw taxis are effective. They can be pedal and/or electric.

Not during a Berlin winter.

Why not? Put big (fatbike) tires on and a strong motor in, done.

There are closed-cabin tuk-tuk style designs too that would provide weather shelter.

Then what's the difference with a small (electric) car?

(Assuming you mean a very small EV on the "smart car" scale.)

They are less broad, seating is in-line rather than side-by-side (more suited for a taxi), they are designed to move through messy traffic such as pedestrianized areas rather than on open roads, at lower speeds, with lower energy expense.

Taxis are pretty cramped already, as a rule. I cannot fit comfortably in many smaller cars, and have difficulty getting my legs in front of me and keeping my head upright. I'm considered tall, but not hugely so; what are such people to do? Let alone wheelchair transport? Keep in mind that smaller transport options such as these are typically used in places where the average person is much shorter. They are also usually not accessible to the handicapped. Finally, many Americans are too fat to fit in narrow seats.

They are super-annoying and they don't give a shit about rules - dangerous for pedestrians and other cyclists.

That's cultural and not intrinsic. There are places with "what rules" car driving culture too.

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