Historically businesses on the Island have been insulated from the 'pressures' of competition that are the norm off-island, and can charge whatever they want.

I have never used Uber but know many people who have. If the service works, is affordable, and meets consumer needs better than taxi companies then it will survive if it comes to the Island. If not, it will fail. What worries me is that taxi companies are going to the selectmen and police to try to stop competition. Last time I checked these government bodies were not there to ensure certain businesses thrive at the expense of others. If the market is saturated with taxis, as Mr. Hickey said, then why are rates so high? And why not let a new model make a go to see what the customers choose?

It's a tough quandry. Uber will not pick you up in lobsterville at 3/00am whereas the is always on 24 cab. Cabbie business is not what it once was either owners or drivers pre VTA and increased licenses. If no one can make a tmyestrsay for living doing it there will be times in the shoulder seasons and winter when it will be mixed. I am all for competition and fully support Uber on the mainland, it's just that the Vineyard is different. Not sure when I fall yet in this one. For sure though, It would be successful June - Aug.

I'm willing to guess that taxi companies and drivers have engendered precious little goodwill over the years with their surly and erratic behavior. The groundswell of support for them will be puny and tepid. Let them be euthanized by the free market.

I'm a Uber user, but if you are in an off-road house up-island, it'll be interesting to see whether the Uber location system is up to the task of finding you.

Disruptive innovation. And consumer choice. The freedom to avoid smelly broken down vehicles and unwelcome shoulder to shoulder ride shares. The opportunity for islanders with decent vehicles to make a few dollars helping visitors get place to place in relative comfort. It is about time! The cab owners can compete in an open market. They have a head start, and all the goodwill (or ill will) with customers to decide their future. What a gift to visitors and islanders! Only socialism takes a hit.

As I suspected, the article completely misses the tenor of the times. Support for Vineyard cabs? Good luck. Overpriced, unsafe, crowded, late… The point about back roads and local knowledge, however, may be well taken.

I'm all for it. Uber works well and gives opportunity to some that need it. Also agreeing with Mr Treadwell: I've had some bad experiences with the current lot of taxis. Unforgetable ride from OB to the Park & Ride in VH: first he took us all over the island and right past our house in Ocean Heights Edgartown.

I want a cab ride home after a late night - so I jump in a cab/van. Expecting an expensive but quick ride, I find I have to wait perhaps twenty minutes while the van hangs around to pack em in. We end up stopping point by point and eventually I get home - still paying an outrageous fare. I'll wager Uber will be one late night outrageous fare, but at least it's quick and not packed with other late night revelers.

To answer Competition's previous comment, the rates for all the taxi companies on the Vineyard are set by the board of selectmen in each of the towns those companies are licensed in. The taxi companies do not set the fare schedule; they are approved after public hearings in which the members of the public can come and ask questions, give their input, recommend changes etc. The selectmen also set regulations that among other things establish how many taxis should be allowed on the road, the hours of operation for the taxi companies, the level of insurance required for each vehicle, as well as a process that allows a customer to file a formal complaint that can result in hearing before selectmen and in some cases the loss of the driver's taxi license. The regulations also require each town to issue taxi licenses to every driver, which requires the town police department to perform a background check into their driving history and criminal background. I mention all this because Uber Taxi, if allowed to set up shop on the Island, would circumvent every single process I just laid out. The drivers would NOT need to undergo a police background check, receive a taxi license from the town, attain commercial or taxi plates from the RMV, or carry the same level of insurance as the taxi companies currently do. They will be able to put as many taxis as they please on the road, they will not have to follow any hours of operation, they will be exempt from any formal complaint hearings before the selectmen, and they will be able to charge on a sliding scale that increases rates when there are fewer taxis available and demand is higher. I just hope everybody realizes what that means -- it means the cost of an Uber taxi ordered now, for example, in mid April, would be higher if you ordered it late at night or during the busy summer season. If this predatory business model -- by an out of state, multi-billion dollar company, no less -- were to threaten ANY OTHER industry on the Island there would be a public outcry and officials would swiftly take action to stop the company in its tracks. And please take a moment to consider just how 'out-of-state' this company really is. If they are allowed to take root on the Vineyard they could likely do so without a single official, manager or representative from Uber having ever set foot on our shores. With only an ad in the newspaper (placed over the phone I am sure) and an app that people download on their phone, a $40 billion giant corporation will arrive on the Island and threaten to put an entire locally owned, year round industry out of business. If somebody invented an app that, say, connected people who were hungry with people who cooked food in their own kitchens, without approval from the town and in non-compliance with the local health codes, the Island's restaurant owners would wit throw a fit and for good reason. And they would march directly to town hall and have this so-called 'food-sharing service' shut down. Or what if the Uber model were applied to the construction industry on the Island, and there was an app allowing homeowners to connect with unlicensed and regulated tradesmen? Of course it would never happen, because the town building inspector or zoning officer would shut it down in a heartbeat while the public applauded. But I guess the taxi industry doesn't get that type of protection, or more accurately even consideration of that type of protection. And that's because its the taxi industry. So many people take a dull view of taxi drivers, and these people will welcome these outliers and cheer as it puts many of us out of business. I'm not sure when taxi drivers and taxi owners turned into the evil empire of our society, but I can tell you that a vast majority of taxi drivers are hard working, honest people just trying to make a living like anybody else. Can we be better .... yes, we can. I'll be the first to admit there is work to do and I, for one, am willing to make changes to make the taxi business here better. There is currently a taxi committee that includes town selectmen and police officials, that is considering changes to improve taxi service on the Island. That is a public process, something anybody can get involved in, they can go to the meetings and ask questions and help effect some type of positive change. But that's a different issue as to whether or not Uber should be allowed here. If people are unhappy with the taxi industry on the Island, that is not a justifiable (or legal) justification for allowing an illegal corporation to come here and put local taxi owners out of business. We live on an Island where it costs more for a gallon of gas, or a loaf of bread, or a steak at a restaurant -- but that's no reason for people to call for the gas stations and grocery stores or restaurants to be put out of business. And remember the public has no process for filing a complaint or possibly changing the cost of such items -- but that processes does in fact exist for the local taxi industry. You, the board of selectmen or even the police will not have any such control over policies or rates of Uber Taxi -- in fact the cost for an Uber ride will be determined by an algorithm that charges more when demand is highest and when you are willing to pay whatever to get a ride. How is it a national company can come here, subvert our local regulations, threaten local business and charge whatever they want depending on demand? How is that fare? How is that just? How is this as some have already put it 'inevitable'? I think this type of business model works in a big city like Boston or New York City; but then again we don't live in Boston or New York City. We live on Martha's Vineyard. We live in a place where there are no Wal-Marts or strip malls or even Dunkin' Donuts. It a blows my mind when I compare what many Islander's reactions would be to the sudden arrival of McDonald's on the Vineyard to the arrival of an another corporate giant like Uber Taxi. If McDonald's tried to come here (and I believe they have in the past) there would be a riot in the streets, and the proposal would be stopped cold by the Martha's Vineyard Commission, a regulatory body with unique legal powers allowing them to prevent chain restaurants and box stores from coming to the Island. But when Uber Taxi tries to come here -- without asking for or receiving permission from any board or commission on the Island -- they are welcomed with open arms while by many who are already calling for blood from the taxi industry on Martha's Vineyard. I am watching as these angry comments toward the the taxi business continue to pop up on the Gazette web-site and I feel the need to tell everybody: Yes I am a taxi owner. And no, I am not a mustache twirling kingpin lighting my cigars with $100 bills. I work about 100 hours an hour in the summer, and still barely manage to eek out a living. I charge the rates set by our elected board of selectmen, and I provide jobs to about ten drivers I trust and feel lucky to under my employ. I keep my cabs clean and I try to know the names of most of my regular customers and where they live. I drop my rates in the winter for our year round customers, without having to do so, I offer a discount for anybody the an Island Club card, and I've even helped little old ladies to their door on occasion. And don't tell anybody, I'll even let a customer charge a ride if they they're short on cash. I'm sure many of you don't care, but my girlfriend and I spent most of our savings on our taxi company five years ago, only to standby now and watch a a billion-dollar company with absolutely no Island ties threaten to take away everything I have worked so hard for. In the coming weeks there will be much debate about the legality and viability of Uber Taxi coming to the Island, but for now I only ask that you look at this issue from our point of view and try to understand we are only asking to be treated fairly -- the same as any of you out there. Jim Hickey Co-Owner of Bluefish and Aquinnah Taxi

So happy to see Uber come to the island (if they do). The taxi's should have embraced a metered system a long time ago and should use this opportunity to work different hours. If you can't find an uber driver after 10pm, maybe taxi's should come start work at 10 pm and provide a service for the first time in their existence.

Any islanders that have issues with island cabs should petition their selectmen about reforms. The taxi companies will comply with new regulations. Allowing an international cooperation to operate the taxi industry is not the correct solution.

I wonder if they'll charge an extra fee to transport a dog as some vineyard cab companies are doing?

The app works very well, Uber is great. Let the Cab companies sign up with UBER... worth the %, everyone happy.

I have driven cab on the vineyard and it's a gamble waiting for boats then people don't want to be squeezed in with strangers making stops before theirs and paying the same amount. Once someone took a ride to menemsha in my cab with no AC on an 86 degree day and the seats were ripped exposing the foam underneath and some of the roof hanging down all for 60 bucks and he said tell your boss this is the worst piece of crap that I ever paid for in my life he didn't even bother tipping. I felt humiliated with the condition of the cab it made noise on turns, shook at 35mpg and even hesitated to start before we departed. Now I drive uber in Boston it has been fantastic I don't have to wait long for a rider people know what to expect my car is always kept clean and maintained. I'm glad uber is on the island time to give those cab companies a real run for thier money uber is cheaper and more reliable than taxis and will benefit the residents and tourist tremendously this summer. I might even drive my car over for a weekend and do a couple of runs after some fun in the sun.

To the driver who tried to over charge me two (2) times last summer thinking I was a tourist, good luck buddy. Karma really is rough.

What a bunch of whiners and cry babies the current vineyard taxi owners are. Last time I checked we live in a free market economy. If you are so worried about Uber and other ride sharing companies than get your collective acts together and provide a superior service. People don't want to ride around with 5 other passengers they don't know in a 20 year old beat up Dodge van with no air conditioning in the middle of the summer.

Jim, with all due respect I can't disagree with you more on several fronts. There is more off island competition than you think, or at least are willing to admit. First off, you giving 10% off with the island card just adds costs to everyone else that doesn't have it. You subsidize card holders at the expense of people that don't have the island card. It's like a supermarket just giving 10% off the top because they want to accept the island club card. The supermarkets, thin margins to begin with, raise there prices to cover that cost, ultimately costing us all. People hire off island companies all the time for building additions or full blown homes. All you have to do is look at the boat in the morning with literally hundreds of people a day walking off to do business here. Some are licensed, some are not, How do we know who walks off the boats on to our shore. We don't. We have off island competition that goes head to head with on island businesses. Stop and Shop vs Reliable Market, UPS and Fedex vs local taxis or delivery companies, off island banks vs island banks, pest control companies, lumber companies, clothing stores that are the likes of Lily Pulitzer, off island food delivery companies (Sysco-Sid Wainer-and more vs Island Food Products.It's all competition. Some can say Amazon is killing local business and has been for years! How about the Mansion House vs the larger company that just bought the Wesley or the corporation that owns the Harborview? All competition. Or better yet, Air B and B vs every lodging house on the island or even house rentals? You're not going to stop this if it comes to the island. You're not. You can not hold back technology like this island tried to hold back expansion or "change" for the last 40 years. It's just not going to happen. What is going to happen is you can bet your bottom dollar that the Chamber of Commerce will embrace these UBER drivers and make them members because it's all about the money and nothing about the community with them. Mark my words, anyone can be a chamber member if they pay (business or not, Air B&B customer, home rental family or soon to be a Uber driver.

I suggest that the taxi industry would be wise to understand federal antitrust law before they make public comments about too much competition in their industry. Town governments should understand the same law, because there are legal limits to their right to interfere with competition.

Uber is a great service! Bring it on! Just not having to be jammed in a smelly, broken-down, van that makes four stops before getting me to Edgartown will be a joy! Uber has insurance, Uber also goes out of their way to ensure their clients and drivers are safe and have a good experience. If I were a taxi driver on the Vineyard...I'd be signing up with Uber.

Many views appear that reflect different perspectives that expose underlying motivations. Cab companies exist not as some altruistic offer but as a way for the cab companies' owners to make money through regulated taxi service. We ought not be surprised, therefore, that cab companies utilize passenger vans to stack multiple fares. Stacking reduces or eliminates the need to purchase additional vehicles to roam or otherwise wait for the boats. Yes, the Towns do regulate the number of active cabs per company but that's life in the fish tank of commerce. Uber capitalized an old model of promotion, what we once called Web 2.0 aka social media, to offer a scaled business based on market theory. In other words, the price of a ride reflects supply and demand. For example, peak demand during the summer creates higher prices for Uber cars and drives demand back to traditional taxis. Let's also remember that the taxi license fees paid to each town actually buys the right to prime taxi-only spaces. That reserved spot represents a gold mine for cab companies that's unavailable to the public and likewise off limits to Uber. Does Uber truly represent a threat to bottom line as some would suggest? Perhaps the answer depends on whose wallet feels most affected.