Taxicabs of the United States area. The president of United Cab discourages his drivers from carrying firearms, instead advising them to accelerate the car and crash into a lamppost or even a police car if they are threatened with a gun. Uber is a major competitor to taxi companies, providing on-demand for-hire car service through a smartphone app in many US cities. Uber services are generally treated as black-car services from a legal standpoint and are not generally regulated under Taxi laws. This can cause friction with both local governments and taxi companies. In June 2015, the city council voted unanimously to increase taxi fares;
Shabbos App Yaakov Menken wrote in early October 2014 that while it was true the Shabbos App had attracted a great deal of attention and discussion, he was pretty sure the app is a hoax, "designed to make Orthodox Jews look bad by demonstrating their focus on … what, precisely, I’m not sure ..." intended to "mock attempts by serious, committed Jews to face the new challenges presented by modern technology". According to one of the developers, several rabbis are on board with the project whom the developer described in September 2014 as "Orthodox and knowledgeable in Torah and halacha", though he