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Uber fan: Cape Town must listen to the people

Cape Town – A Fin24 reader has accused the City of Cape Town of not listening to the needs of the people, who he says wants the Uber transport service just the way it is.

Fin24 user Andre Erasmus wrote: “How dare these metered taxi drivers protest? I thought it was supposed to be a free market. You do not have the right to do a terrible job and expect to keep that job. Also, how dare the City of Cape Town impound Uber vehicles, fully knowing that government is the bottle neck in the issuing of operating licences and Uber is not at fault? 

READ: Uber in bid to meet Cape Town permit requirements

“When a political party is voted into power to manage a city, they are supposed to represent the people. The people want this service because otherwise Uber wouldn’t be making a profit. So when the city impounds vehicles who they are representing, not the people, they represent the metered taxi industry. Why would they do this?

“I’ve used both the taxis and I can say without doubt that Uber has a far superior service. When using a traditional metered taxi there are a whole host of hurdles one is forced to jump over before you get picked up, if you ever get picked up.

“Firstly, you have to call a call centre and try and explain to the person, who is always sitting in an incredibly loud environment, where you are. After screaming into your handset for five minutes, you’re usually told that they have no taxis in the area and it’s going to be at least a 40 minute wait.

READ: Taxi drivers protest Uber - as it happened

“Before Uber, I had no choice but to wait. My usual experience was that after 40 minutes had elapsed with no sign of the taxi, I’d phone back and ask what was happening. This is the point where you get a whole host of excuses as to why they’re not there and they promise that the taxi would be on its way.

“Somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes usually go by before you get a phone call from a frantic taxi driver, who is trying to figure out where you are because the phone operator never does a good job of explaining to the driver the pickup point. After explaining where you are, you ask the driver where he is and inevitably he is still 30 minutes away on the far side of town.

“So from the time you call the taxi service to the time you get picked up it could be anywhere from an hour to three hours; imagine being stuck at a restaurant for an extra three hours after a meal.
 
“Now compare that terrible service - actually you can’t even call it a service because it’s just abuse - to Uber.

“I’ve been using Uber for about six months now. I’ve probably spent close to R4 000 on Uber. I love Uber and I’ve never waited more than 15 minutes for a ride. If you use Uber Black, the cars are always high-end with leather seats and the air con works.

READ: Protest against Uber rocks Cape Town

“The drivers are well dressed and polite and you are offered bottled water, which I like even though I seldom take it. For me personally, the price is actually cheaper than normal taxis, depending on the distance you’re traveling.

“The reason is, you don’t tip the Uber driver and I do tip the metered taxi driver and just that difference makes the metered taxis more expensive for me.

“The Uber app asks you to rate your driver out of five. Anything less than three stars and it asks you to explain why you’re rating them so low. Any driver that you gave a low rating to will not be allowed to pick you up again, so when you request a Uber vehicle that request isn’t sent to the drivers that you rated below three stars.

“If enough people give this driver a poor rating then Uber closes his account and he is no longer an Uber driver. Drivers also get to rate passengers and if enough drivers rate a passenger poorly, Uber contacts that person and basically tells them to stop abusing their drivers, be nice or their account would be closed.

“The only issue I have with Uber is the surge pricing, which means if there is suddenly a lot of people in one area trying to hail a Uber vehicle and there are no Uber vehicles in that area, Uber will incentivise their drivers to get to that area by allowing them to charge more for those trips. In theory it is fine, but in practice it can leave a bad taste in the customer’s mouth.

“Uber needs to work on this.”

* What is your view on innovation threatening the traditional taxi industry? Tell us now.

Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on Tech Opinion / MyFin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views of users published on Fin24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.
 

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