Uber seems to have run into a bad patch as far as its public relations are concerned. The company has now invited trouble from authorities in Hong Kong and Thailand. Several UberX drivers have recently found themselves embroiled in legal confusions and are now facing fines.
In Hong Kong, five UberX drivers were fined HK$10,000 besides being banned from driving taxis for a period of one year, after they were found to be using their vehicles for commercial purposes. Apparently, regulators carried out a raid following complaints from licensed taxi drivers in the city. The issue lies in the fact that services like Uber have a pretty uncertain status in the Hong Kong. So while they do operate in the city, their operation falls under rather uncertain categories.
Since the laws are not explicit upon whether these cabs can ply in the city using the Uber platform, investigators were able to conduct raids. Following the raids, five UberX drivers were fined HK$10,000 (around $1,300) and banned from driving for 12 months.
Uber has spoken out against the incident, saying that it would be detrimental to all the parties involved:
We are very disappointed with today’s court decision, which we believe goes against the best interests of riders, drivers and the city of Hong Kong itself.
The company also said that:
We have consistently sought to partner with authorities and other stakeholders to find solutions that enable ridesharing to flourish, and we will be submitting proposals for regulatory reform to the existing Government and the three Chief Executive candidates.
Meanwhile, Thailoand appears to be n throes of a movement against Uber drivers. Not only at regulators catching Uber drivers by posing as clients, local transport workers in Chiang Mai are also in on the game. Apparently, the latter are taking photographs of drivers, which are then presented to authorities.
Similar to Hong Kong, the issue here lies in the fact that Thai law doesn’t permit consumer vehicles to be used for commercials purposes. That makes people driving cars in the countries fair game to authorities. Meanwhile, Uber has asked Thai customers and drivers to sign a digital petition. The company says:
The government wants Uber to be regulated under the Motor Vehicle Act B.E.2522 (1979), which was drafted over 38 years ago when the concept of “ridesharing” and smartphone technology didn’t exist. By insisting on this, the country risks missing out on the full benefits that ridesharing brings to riders, drivers and cities. It also goes against the government’s ‘Thailand’s 4.0 initiative,’ which aims to make the country into a regional hub of technology and innovation.
