Taxi industry about to get worse?

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of Uber or a similar organization to break up the VI taxi mafia.

Gypsy taxis are our Uber equivalent. The taxi industry here is geared towards group transportation - not individual riders, so Uber's model won't quite work here.

I read the article and while all for helping veterans, I wondered about the legality of having such a monopoly. Seems to me more and better regulations should be in order, not less.

Taxi concessions and franchises bring in very little money to the
VI coffers since they are charged a pittence for them while there's
no way to track if proper amounts of taxes are being paid on these
all cash businesses.

i have never liked the monopoly the taxi people have at the airports. they dont even want a hotel to pick up guests or a car rental company-last i heard

Try getting one on a busy cruise ship day to pick you up at your home to get you to your destination. They need to allow gypsy cabs to be part of the taxi association and fulfill those needs for a single passenger destinations at a reasonable cost.

Gypsy cabs = Uber! Just wait...the VI is a natural fit for this type of solution.

I used a gypsy cab once in St. Thomas. I walked to a grocery store and used it for my return trip for my provisions for the week. Paid the man significantly more than he asked because it was well worth it to me. That said I have not had many problems with the taxis in STT or STJ. I have found the drivers to be very pleasant to talk to. I even had a driver go out of his way to talk a group into allowing me to hitch a ride with their group to Magens Bay when I was stranded on Mountain Top. You can find plenty of taxis to take you to Mountain Top but few to come get you when you are ready to go back. HaHa but i don't blame them. I know i should probably just start renting a car when I visit but I enjoy just grabbing a taxi if they are available. I was a nervous wreck after renting a Jeep on STJ for just 4 hours. Uber would be a great idea.