Cracking down on Uber and other ride-sharing apps
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was astute enough to turn the locals’ strong resistance to the proposed Krabi coal-fired electricity plant into an opportunity for stakeholders to inclusively review the situation and seek a win-win, sustainable solution.
He should likewise turn riders’ overwhelming preference for Uber’s ride-sharing over Land Transport Department-regulated vehicles into an opportunity for a sustainable solution.
Enforcing the current decades-old, pre-app law forces the Department to work against its mission of ensuring safe, convenient rides at honestly-earned fares – for Uber’s vehicles are safer than the Department’s taxis or songtaews, eg with seatbelts for all passengers; the former will come to wherever you are, and, with GPS tracking, their fares are honest. Also, Suppakit Lomjit, heading a Chiang Mai tuk-tuk and bus drivers group, reports that on the Doi Suthep run, Uber undercuts songtaew prices by 50-60 per cent. No wonder riders flock to Uber. Yet, Uber is breaking the law and its cars may be inadequately insured. Prayut should show the same foresight as in the Krabi case and inclusively invite major stakeholders to see how our archaic law should be sustainably amended, so that all vehicles meet Uber’s standards; all service providers are rigorously regulated, whether app-reliant or not, and there’s vigorous competition. Again, turn a major problem into an opportunity, sir.
Burin Kantabutra
