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| Taxi drivers smash taxis in protest at Rideshares like Uber |
I wrote a letter about this the other day which ought to be published shortishly.
I took Ubers everyday in Oz, last month. I always had a nice talk with an interesting driver. In taxis the driver usually does it as a job. Uber drivers do it as something to do in between doing something else: studying for post-grad qualifications, making a bit of extra cash for holidays, chillin' between jobs, helping out the pregnant wife, having a rest from the restaurant business....
One driver said that of 20 lifts a day and had 20 interesting discussions. I second that. Every discussion I had with Uber drivers was lively and fun. Folks from all over: Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Serbia, Syria, "Persia " (yes, a Christian), even some native-born Aussies.
In Australia, Rideshare services like Uber are legal and regulated. At the airports there's even a section near the Taxi ranks labelled "Rideshares". Meantime Taxi plate prices have plummeted — in Melbourne down to zero — but the sky hasn't fallen and a good result is that a wider range of folks can now get a licence and get cabbing. If that's what they want. Or just go Uber. Or Lyft. Or other Rideshare (some are for Luxury cars and drivers are often signed up to several, logging into whichever they feel like for the day).
Hong Kong prides itself on being a free enterprise mecca. On the Uber issue that's a sick joke. All because the taxi lobby has ridden roughshod over public interests. And allowed to do so by our pusillanimous public servants.
Here's Yonden:
How ironic that our government and police will do next to nothing about taxi drivers cherry-picking passengers and destinations, even though it's against the law to refuse a fare, but they're on some unholy crusade against Uber drivers who provide a superior service – officially branded as illegal – that hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers prefer.
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