SINGAPORE: Taxi drivers are crying foul over what they feel are
overly aggressive marketing efforts by taxi- and car-booking
platform Uber, which has been giving the taxi industry a run for
its money.
Uber’s ambassadors have been offering promotion codes for free Uber
rides in the vicinity of taxi stands - more recently at Changi City
Point - to those who download the Uber application. These codes can
only be used that same day. When TODAY visited Changi City Point,
ambassadors were seen approaching passers-by near the taxi stand
and offering to download the app and enter the promotion codes for
them.
These tactics are understood to be legal and not considered touting
- for example, they did not stop potential passengers from taking
taxis. But the practice has further antagonised cabbies who feel
hamstrung by laws governing the taxi industry while private
drivers, operating under fewer requirements, are eating into their
business.
Mr Philip Yap, a taxi driver of about six to seven years, sees
these tactics as indirect touting.
The 47-year-old said: “I don’t mind competition, but at least be
fair to us. We have to go through classes, exams, and (frequent)
medical check-ups ... everything to get our licence. And what about
these private car drivers? They are using loopholes to operate
(their business).” He added that he was considering switching sides
and becoming a private car driver instead, given operational costs
for a taxi driver are higher.
A 50-year-old taxi driver who only wanted to be known as Mr Tan,
said that regulations have to be revised with the changing
landscape. “The rules 50 years ago cannot be applied today; it
makes no sense. There were fewer taxis and cars then, and there are
more now,” he said.
While it is up to companies such as Uber and GrabCar how they wish
to market their businesses, Mr Tan felt taxi drivers’ needs should
be considered. “When something like this suddenly happens, we feel
helpless,”
he added.
Mr Karun Arya, a spokesperson for Uber Southeast Asia, said the
company has been doing this since it launched in Singapore
two-and-a-half years ago. He explained: “Our brand ambassadors were
near taxi stands marketing to people who are struggling to get
transportation ... It is something we do worldwide in every city we
are in, allowing people to have their first Uber experience for
free.”
Last month, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan tasked Senior Minister
of State (Transport) Ng Chee Meng to look into creating a level
playing field for taxi drivers and private-car sharing apps; he
acknowledged a balanced approach is called for.
National Taxi Association adviser Ang Hin Kee said the authorities
have been meeting with the association and taxi drivers to
understand their concerns about the current situation. He said:
“Taxi drivers have been obeying and complying to a strict set of
rules and structure, which has led to professionalism, good service
and better standards. However, these rules are not the same for
another group of drivers, thus it is going against what they are
used to.”
Adding that the next meeting is due in a few weeks’ time, Mr Ang
said: “We will ensure that while Singapore embark on creating
innovative solutions to create more options for public transport,
the drivers’ livelihoods are competed on a level playing
field.”
Read the
original TODAY report here.
