Uber war overheating

[reader]

From Pattaya Mail

 

PATTAYA – Authorities are threatening to double or triple fines against warring Pattaya public-transport drivers, saying vigilante violence against smartphone-enabled ride-sharing services must end.

 

Manote Chanwattanasin, inspector general of the Chon­buri Land Transport Department, called a meeting Sept. 27 with police, Pattaya administrators, and Banglamung District officials for taxi co-operatives to discuss the latest salvos in the “Uber war”.

 

The confab was prompted by two videos posted to social media showing taxi drivers either fighting or angrily confronting drivers getting business from Uber Technologies Co.’s or GrabTaxi PTE’s apps.

 

The former’s UberX and the latter’s GrabCar discount services have been declared illegal in Thailand as they utilize privately registered cars driven by people without commercial driver’s licenses.

 

Operating almost with impunity in Bangkok for years, both services have been subjected to repeated incidents of vigilante justice and guerilla warfare by Pattaya co-op taxi drivers who, until the ride-sharing services arrived in Pattaya, had earned a dismal reputation for repeatedly overcharging customers.

 

http://www.pattayamail.com/news/authorities-threaten-tripled-fines-end-uber-war-188081

[biguyby]

Going off what I read in the press before I left the UK Uber was going to be banned in London from October 1st

[bkkguy]

Going off what I read in the press before I left the UK Uber was going to be banned in London from October 1st

 

technically their private hire operator licence was not to be renewed - in London Uber and its drivers have needed to comply with the same regulations and requirements that apply to other private hire operators (as distinct from black mini-cab operators) but Transport for London which oversees licences was not satisfied with how they were meeting those requirements

 

not surprisingly the situation in Thailand is much more complex - as I understand it:

 

- Grab Taxi in Bangkok, which uses licensed taxi vehicles, their licensed drivers and their licensed meters to calculate fares, is just a booking service and is thus as legal as telephone booking services offered by many taxi co-operatives

 

- Grab Taxi in other areas in Thailand, which also uses licensed taxi vehicles and their licensed drivers but does not use their licensed meters to calculate fares, faces the same legal questions as other licensed taxi operators in these areas who also do not use their licensed meters

 

- other Grab options and Uber do not use vehicles or drivers licensed for commercial passenger services and are thus classified as illegal under current Thai laws

 

without wanting to defend companies like Uber who seem to view themselves as "disruptive" and above local laws just because they are internet based, it is not surprising that many consumers are not interested in legal nit-picking when comparing the service and prices for the new entrants into the market compared to the incumbents who seem more interested in maintaining their current protected position and the benefits it brings them rather than adapting to provide reasonable service at reasonable prices - like many other customers I am bewildered when licensed taxi drivers or baht bus operators in many areas in Thailand refuse to use their meters and/or demand inflated fares yet feel justified in physically abusing drivers offering  these  new services!

 

bkkguy