Did Ubercab just crash and burn? Taxi and limo industry insiders in California today informed TechCrunch that the San Francisco Metro Transit Authority & the Public Utilities Commission of California have ordered the startup to cease and desist.

UPDATE: Since the orders arrived on October 20th, Ubercab has remained in service under threat of penalties including up to $5,000 fee per instance of Ubercab’s operation, and potentially 90 days in jail per each day the company remains in operation past the orders.

The company’s brand name and logo appear to be in metamorphosis; on its website and blog, Ubercab’s logo now reads simply “Uber,” and the company commented to its own Facebook community yesterday afternoon, “more uber than cab.”

Chief executive of Ubercab Ryan Graves told TechCrunch, “We are working with the agencies [involved] to figure out their exact concerns and make sure that we’re in compliance.” He wouldn’t comment beyond that, but pointed to the company’s official public statement posted on its blog today (October 24th):

UberCab Inc. has been issued a cease and desist order from the SF Metro Transit Authority & the Public Utilities Commission of California. While we are looking into the issues raised, we believe that the service we offer is in compliance with the cited regulations.

UberCab is a first to market, cutting edge transportation technology and it must be recognized that the regulations from both city and state regulatory bodies have not been written with these innovations in mind. As such, we are happy to help educate the regulatory bodies on this new generation of technology and work closely with both agencies to ensure compliance and keep our service available for our truly Uber users and their drivers.

Our commitment is to facilitate an improved transportation option that provides safe, reliable, and convenient travel. That will not change. We will continue full speed ahead with the mission of making San Francisco city a great place to live and travel.

Ubercab’s mobile apps let users request a car service to pick them up wherever they are right now, and let users pay for that car service with their phones. The startup takes a cut of the money made by drivers to generate revenue. Earlier this month, Ubercab closed a $1.25 million angel investment led by First Round.

The funding came despite the fact that the San Francisco taxi industry has been rumbling about whether Ubercab’s business is legal since September. A concerned driver brought the matter up at a Taxi Advisory Council meeting, reported The Phantom Cab Driver Phites Back blog.

One of the company’s investors and founders Travis Kalanick said on Sunday, “We’ve seen this before. New technology comes in and appears threatening to incumbent industries at first. At the end of the day, those industries see the benefit of that technology and ultimately find ways of using it in a productive manner, and embracing innovation.” Kalanick also founded the early p2p (peer to peer) search engine called Scour, which drew resistance from Hollywood executives who didn’t want their content distributed online in the 90s.

The incumbent taxi industry’s concerns about Ubercab include the following:

Ubercab operates much like a cab company but does not have a taxi license.
Its cars don’t have insurance equivalent to taxis’ insurance.
Ubercab may threaten taxi dispatchers’ way of earning a living.
Limos in U.S. cities usually have to prebook an hour in advance, by law, while only licensed taxis can pick someone up right away but Ubercab picks people up right away (again without a taxi license).

In contrast, Uber— nee Ubercab — often pitches itself not as a taxi service, but an app that helps ride seekers book a premium car and driver quickly and easily via mobile, and helps licensed limo drivers connect with clients.

More: UberCab Cease & Desist Means One Thing: They’re Onto Something

The Taxi and Limousine Commission in New York wants passengers to have a safe, swift ride every time they flag down one of its taxis. To that end the commission is studying several ideas that would make your journey all the more pleasant. One idea in particular deserves our attention: installing signal blockers that would prevent cellphones from being using by the cabbie. (Your cellphone would still work fine in the back seat.) That way you can go from Dumb Club to Stupid After-party without hearing the gentleman driving the cab wax poetic to his friends via his awful Bluetooth headset.

Now, this is just one idea of many; it’s also just an idea, and not yet set policy. And while I initially like the idea of being able to sit in a taxi without having the hear the cabbie’s conversation—many cabbies do use Low Voice, however—there are some concerns. One, if this is just as much about safety as it is convenience (the cabbie drives safer without the distraction of a Bluetooth-enabled conversation) then why not install a signal blocker that covers the entire cab? After all, your blabbing on your iPhone can be just as distracting—dangerous!—to the cabbie as his conversion would be.

Then the kind-hearted person in me thinks, What’s the big deal about the cabbie having a conversation? He’s merely trying to get through his day as painlessly as possible. Throw on your iPod if his talking is that big an issue, no need to be a jerk about it.

Never mind the legal issues of installing signal blockers. That debate is way down the line from where we are now.

But, again, this is just an idea, and one of many. (Other ones include a MetroCard-like Taxi Card that would act like a debit card, and the ability to have receipts sent directly to an e-mail address.)

And now, a conversation has started.

Do you have no-good, bratty, whiney kids who think the world revolves around them and make you drive them to all the cool hangouts around town just so they can avoid having to sit by themselves in the cafeteria even though all that stuff won’t matter by the time they’re 30 and actually realize how ridiculously unimportant their lives were when they were in middle school?

Me neither, but I can’t wait to have kids. I think I’d be a pretty cool dad.

The first item I’d pick up for my car would be this thing called Dad’s Cab, which I’d attach to my dashboard. When my bratty, no-good daughter asked me to take her to a friend’s house so she can watch The Hills because I’ve blocked MTV, E!, and SOAPnet from our TV, I’d fire up Dad’s Cab and start the meter running.

Now normally, Dad’s Cab uses fare cards that say things like “Bring me a mug of tea and the paper on the weekend” or “Clean your room” or “Vacuum the living room rug”.

I’d alter my cards to say things like “Pay 1/4 of the mortgage this month since you actively use at least 1/4 of the living space in our house” or “Buy yourself any pairs of pants that cost over $30 since you seem to think paying $180 for a pair of jeans is actually going to escalate you to the next social strata” or “Figure out how you’re going to pay for Cancun since your mother and I sure as hell don’t think of that as a relaxing vacation.”

Dad’s Cab costs £9.95 and might not be available in the US, which is probably a good thing for my future children.

Dad’s Cab [Gizoo.com via DVICE]

Part rickshaw, part cab, but all green — it’s the EcoCab. Come to think of it, “part cab” might be stretching it just a tad, since most cabs can, oh I don’t know, go on the highway. This cab, however, is for getting from Point A to Point A-and-a-half. It’s pedal powered but features a small electric motor to help the “driver” achieve speeds of just under eight miles per hour.

A fleet of 28 EcoCabs has apparently just hit Toronto, according to TreeHugger.com, and rides will be free “during summer street festivals and special events.” A commenter on the site mentioned that EcoCabs have been giving free rides in Dublin, Ireland for the past year, so it appears that riding in an EcoCab might always be free. How is this possible, you may or may not ask? Through the magical wonderment of cab-adorned advertising. It really, truly does make the world go ’round.

Photo by Roger Cullman

Fueled by a 65-square foot trailer covered with solar panels, this three-wheeled, two-seat taxi is making its way around the world without stopping for gas. It was developed by a Swiss teacher named Louis Palmer and the whole taxi thing is more or less a gimmick, although he is actively picking people up and giving them free rides. Palmer says that if the car were to be mass produced, it would likely cost less than $9000 to build. Its top speed is 55 miles per hour and the car is 30 feet long when you factor in the trailer on the back.

Palmer had to begrudgingly remove his "Gas, Grass, or Ass — Nobody Rides for Free" bumper sticker and replace it with a less edgy "Sun, Fun, or Buns — Everyone Rides for Free" window cling. The previous sentence may or may not be true.

Solar-powered taxi seeks to go around world [Reuters]

Some of us have trouble pulling ourselves away from the computer and sometimes that can be OK. But if you need your fix of video gaming and Internet surfing and happen to live in Austin, Texas, you may want to call Ricky Gray for a cab. Gray has outfitted his minivan-turned-taxi with two LCD TVs on which customers can play Playstation 2 games on, watch TV, and surf the Internet.

Gray’s exceptional service, combined with a geeked out cab make for a great time while cruising around the Austin area. He says his future plans include upgrading the PS2 to a PS3, getting bigger LCD TVs, and adding a satellite dish so better programming is available. If he added a snack machine, I’m pretty sure it’d be worth taking the scenic route on every trip.

A cab with a view: two TVs, a laptop and a PlayStation 2 [CNet]

I only use cabs in the city when I’m trying to get my mack on and I have no time for that silly subway. But if I should come across a situation where I need to use one, I’ll finally be able to use my credit card instead of cash. How, you ask? NYC has finalized plans to install 13,000 devices into all the cabs around the city. These units will allow you to pay with a credit card, get news and information via touch-screen display, check out local bars and restaurants, deliver sports scores, and a whole lot more.

Though this will obviously benefit passengers, drivers aren’t enthusiastic about it (gee, what a surprise). They said the new displays will be expensive to implement and that cab owners and officials will be able to check up on them. Plus that GPS unit will keep people in the know in case a cabbie goes completely crazy and starts trying to drive off the Brooklyn Bridge. Either way, 200 units are currently operational with more being rolled out this year. Keep an eye out for ‘em the next time you rock a taxi.

Taxi rides in NYC going high-tech [AP]

If you live in NYC like some of us, you know that cabs are nothing exciting. They’re just fast transportation (well, sometimes at least) from one point to another for when you’re drunk as a skunk. All that is about to change though, thanks to a new touchscreen the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission showed off last week.

Set to debut in the next few weeks, the touchscreen features news, weather reports, restaurant reviews and shows the current progress your cab is making to your destination. Those who lose personal items in the cab will be able to call the cab company up and track down their items much quicker. You’ll also be able to start paying with credit cards thanks to the new system (about time). If the sounds emitting from the device become annoying, you can just mute it for a calm ride crosstown. New Yorkers should thank the heavens and keep their eye out for these during the holidays.

New NYC taxis to have TV and tracking [Silicon Valley via Digg]