The federal court has handed down a decision that the Zurich taxi regulations violate the Binnenmarktgesetz. That means taxi prices may no longer be prescribed by the government (with the one exception that they are allowed to mandate a price *cap* - why is anyone's guess). No doubt the right decision that will benefit all of us. I believe this must be one of the few areas besides prostitution and drugs where Switzerland now has more liberal laws than even the U.S. (at least in some places). Celebrate!

http://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/content/...i/110610a.html

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That's what they said some 15 years ago when the government deregulated health insurance to allow for "competition", prices have only skyrocketed since (hindsight reasoning for the price caps).

I'm not sure you can liken the taxi business to healthcare. I believe it's more akin to the deregulation of the telecom market. Healthcare is a heavily regulated industry where doctors unfortunately have a interest in overselling patients. And since generally no-one dares to question a doctor's diagnosis/prescription, the steadily increasing prices are no surprise. The taxi industry, in contrast, is a low-margin industry that is highly competitive. Besides, there are already places in this country where prices are not regulated, such as Bern. I don't know the exact situation on the ground, but I'm unaware of prices having sky-rocketed in those areas. But maybe I'm missing something obvious here?

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