www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I can take care of myself, and my own needs.

I don't rely on the CR courts for anything.

Uber to charge Colones 300 LESS per kilometer than red tico Taxis…read article in La Nacion today.

http://www.nacion.com/nacional/transpor ... 49415.html

The courts are so inept and subject to delays and or bribes. The delay tactic is in full swing down there and they hope that people either move away, die or get frustrated to the point of saying pura vida and fuckit. So say you do get a judgement for 5,000.00 how long can it go before you even get close to seeing any money. I know one asshole that has tied up a 2 millon dollar home for over 7 years on a fraud deal preventing the rightful owner from selling it or doing anything with it and this gringo is allowed to stay in the CR without a passport because of the pending court case, but now the other side has gotten tired of the deal and it is pressing for his arrest and him spending at least 10 years in prison down there. Nothing gets done quick in the court system in CR.
Because I travel so much I do renew my insurance every year and I know if something medical happens or if I die that things will get taken care of or I get airlifted back to the states and treated in the US. For under 500.00 per year I an happy to never need it.

So Uber has elected to do what I pointed out in my original post.

Based on the numbers in the article you linked, they are going with a declared 20% commission rate instead of the typical 25% or even 30% commission they charge in other markets. Difficult to see how Uber drivers will make a living charging those rates. It'll be interesting to see if Uber Costa Rica, in order to establish the service in the market, sneaks their drivers additional $ under the table to guarantee them a living wage.

I also noticed the article made no reference to Uber's practice of surge pricing. I wonder what will happen when ticos get hit by Uber's surge pricing 2x fares.

mh

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mh

Good points MH….will be interesting to see how the experiment works.

I just don't think Uber will be a mass market option in CR…it will be somewhat of a niche option for more sophisticated customers (definitely need to carry a smart phone) and perhaps more focused on certain areas of the city like Escazu, Santa Ana, San Pedro and downtown…etc.

Don't know how its working in other Latin American cities (MDE?). But it is always nice to have options…here in Seattle they are great, and much cheaper than Yellow Cab In other US cities I've used them, they are A++ too.

We will see, I guess!

UBER is a difficult company to understand when you only look at it as a cab company.

with with smart money putting a 50 billion dollars pre IPO Enterprise Valuation, its important to look a it deeper, from different angles and most importantly, from a forward looking perspective.

think Amazon in 1996 selling books on the internet and fast forward to today where they a a logistics and distribution juggernaut. books were simply the keystone in the business model.

They didnt build Central Park where the center of the city was.... They built it where the center of the city would be.

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its easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled- mark twain

Yeah, maybe they intend to derive much of their revenue from advertising, as many other web sites/apps do. I've never seen the Uber app...does it contain advertising?

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"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

No, it does not contain advertising.

I am an Uber affecionado...and use them in USA, Panama, Colombia...and soon hopefully in CR. I don't mind paying a dollar or 2 extra for newer cars, better presentable drivers, free bottle of water, and knowing before they pick me up what their name and license plate number is. Yes...lets get rid of the syndicate/mafia taxi systems everywhere. Let independent drivers with their own cars do their thing and provide a better service.

most security problems in much of Latin America start with taxis. Uber pretty much takes that risk out of the equation.

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All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts...

Once you try Uber you don't go back...to taxis!

I have great memories at Costa Rica

I can see if you live there and are on a fixed income maybe it makes since to pinch pennies. For those of who are just visiting I don't see an issue with using the taxis in San Jose. I often will take a taxi from La Amistad to The Pirate Club and even in the worst traffic it never cost more than 3K (including tip). I never have to wait more than a few minutes and the drivers have never tried to take me a long route or rip me off. Anyone who can afford to vacation abroad and bitches about the taxi fares in San Jose is ridiculous. Considering the price of fuel and the price of cars, I think the taxi fares are very cheap.

Just a few things on Uber/taxis...

1) Uber went into service Friday afternoon...by Friday night, they'd already taken the plates and towed one car after writing the drive ~$200 ticket (110,000c). He was apparently set up by red taxis who set up the appointment and had the transit police waiting on him. The driver will also face fees to get his plates back and to get his car out of impound. http://www.elmundo.cr/costarica/decomis ... tas-rojos/

2) The Costa Rican government has been very clear, Uber is illegal and will be prosecuted. They've alerted transit police to be on the lookout for them and considering how Uber operates, it isn't had to have one busted. http://news.co.cr/president-of-costa-ri ... ber/41021/

3) Uber says they will support drivers who get in trouble. This article also updates the number of Uber drivers busted to two. http://www.ticotimes.net/2015/08/22/ube ... costa-rica

4) Red taxis aren't near as reliable as you might think. Out of almost 24K taxis inspected in 2014, over 5,800 of them had defective meters...or almost a 25% failure rate. So that means one of every 4 red licensed taxis were most likely overcharging customers. http://www.repretel.com/Riteve-encontr% ... n-a%C3%B1o

5) Red taxis drivers have been reported to have attacked a Uber driver and damaged his car. http://www.nacion.com/nacional/politica ... 49333.html

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The only thing that matters is happiness in all it forms...

Thanks for the thorough and documented update PVT...

This only goes to prove my point, as stated on my earlier posts on this thread.

Government approved and protected racket, inefficient and now violent, that only works at the expense of the paying public (and the economy, overall). Does it remind anybody of the ICE, RECOPE, etc. Remember the resistance and threats when competition for cellular phone service was considered??

It will get sorted out.

The government launches major crusade against Uber...but let's thousands of piratas taxis operate freely without enforcement of the same laws that are being cited against Uber...hmmm, interesting!

Anyone guess the motives? Just 15 Uber cars are such a threat?