www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I suspect that THAT is the point. Pirate taxis do not need Uber to operate in CR, and all Uber does is take cash out of the hands of whomever works for them.

The biggest issue that CR has with Uber is that no caja payments are made on behalf of the drivers, as they are considered subcontracted individuals, and not employees.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

***Post retired***

Right Mitchy...it is easier to suppress innovation and resist change, rather than compete against it. Let's just use the government bureaucracy and inefficiency to regulate change...and, let's get a helping hand from some thugs to go out and destroy windshields and attack drivers while we're at it.

After all, it is a gringo company coming to destroy the livelihood of hard working Tico driver families....not the piratas, they are local, that's OK!

remember in 1996 Amazon was just a book seller... just the same way uber is a just taxi company in 2015... the companies strength is in data.

the way I see it....
getting the govts attention is one way of getting a dialog going.. pirate taxis dont pay caja because of no accountability... Uber just happens to have that solution for the govt. Data

what govt wouldnt welcome assistance in tax collection that doesnt cost anything?

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

I hear everyone's point that Uber would be great for US. And many *think* that it would be great for the local population, and even the local economy. And some of us think that it'll be great for the 'employees' of Uber that get our business.

The plain fact is that we only care about ourselves, and not one of us knows how the Uber business model will affect Costa Rica (a heavily socialized country). Uber is rattling cages around the world due to their business model. Oh sure, street taxi drivers are offended, but this is little more than peasant squabbling.

As to complaints of 'corruption', we all know that it is the cost of doing business in every nation, including the USA. Factor it out of the argument, because it is one of the only 'Constants' that will survive any potential future with (or without) Uber.

Amazon is not a good comparison. Uber affects national tax and social wage metrics. THAT is why it's so big on the business radar. Socialized countries (like France) will fight back the hardest, and I suspect that smaller countries without a major social-wage economy won't really care.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

when i use Amazon as an example, im not comparing business models... Im using Amazon as an example of how in the early stages of a start up, they complete vision is not seen... as of 2015 Amazons book business is a small part of its operation. in 20 years Ubers taxi biz will also be a small part...

and because it affects taxes, uber suddenly has a govt attention enough for a debate, and enough to pitch their traffic, transportation and logistic solutions....

again, 2035

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

You're a visionary Col...

The CR authorities running and supporting the taxi racket surely don't see beyond their immediate interests! Just like the entitled parties that work and run the many govt. monopolies in CR (think ICE, RECOPE, etc.) don't see past theirs

In all honesty I don't see how it is a 'racket'. What exactly is it that goes on?

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

I'm using the term fairly loosely here...meaning that the CR government, claiming to be doing something to allegedly "protect the consumer public", artificially regulates the providers of for hire passenger transportation, by setting standards, prices and volume of supply at arbitrary levels while failing to enforce or choosing not to enforce the same regulations it creates.

Examples, taxis with tampered meters ripping off customers, existence of thousands of illegal piratas taxis operating unimpeded, etc. where the same regulators do nothing to enforce their own rules.

In comes Uber to professionally disrupt the scene...let's turn the mob against them!

The best advice on CRT is to stick with 'official' taxis, meaning that the advisor recognizes the benefit to the gov't regulation of official taxis. As for setting the rate, this serves two purposes: to keep collusion from controlling market forces, and to simulate the 'minimum wage' on taxi drivers (like they do with every other profession).

Just as in the US, it's is damned near impossible to stop pirating, whether it be media, cable or taxi services. The cost of enforcement would outweigh the cost benefits of said enforcement. As for the rigged meters, it's possible that there is some form of punishment if caught with one. Otherwise they'd be no reason to keep track of it as a statistic.

Maybe there's some politicians making money off the taxi services, and they are trying to protect their income stream. I don't know. But simply looking from the outside, Uber is a disruption to the status quo, where the potential addition of 'coordinated pirate activity' in a specific sector (taxi service) could unbalance the sector to the detriment of public welfare. (It also may be a positive benefit to public welfare, but with so many unknowns, no gov't will try out the experiment.)

In the end, the gov't has created a regulated industry that employees thousands, and feeds families. A major disruption to that setup could have major consequences in public tranquility. The CR people are quick to protest. It's an easier thing to just kick out Uber and maintain the status quo.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

not really a visionary...
companies like Uber have data collection down to a science... on the surface alone, think how eager the CR Govt would love to see exactly how much more tax revenue they could collect from their Uber metered taxis... how they could use the traffic data to solve their congestion problems... how they could quantify the countries fuel usage ...

the taxi end of the business is almost like a loss leader...

AirBnB a similar company just closed a deal with the french govt to start paying taxes on the dwellings they rent... its not unreasonable to think other countries wouldnt mind getting more tax revenue...

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

Two short points...

One is...Uber is not a transportation company. They provide TECHNOLOGY to the taxi industry and license the drivers to use that technology. At the same time, they care about the qualifications and identity of who is using their technology. Not a bad thing.

Two...it is a corrupt racket and "collusion" for certain companies and their government to control all the licenses and create a monopoly on transportation services to the public. This truly does show CR to be the socialist regime that it is.

It is fundamentally the rich insiders between government and the syndicatos who are threatened by UBER. If they were smart...they would negotiate a contract for ALL of their drivers to use UBER. I'm sure UBER would be fair in the negotiations if they captured all taxi services in one big deal. Then this whole issue would go away.

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

Yes, it is socialist. It's not bad just because it's socialist.

When a gov't turns over a major public service to privately (or publicly) held companies, it usually leads to disaster. Uber doesn't give a rats ass about the drivers. Like you said, it's a piece of software that allows unlicensed people to engage in regulated work.

I can foresee a day when I can shop rates for surgeries on Uber. So the regulation thing needs to be sorted out now.

I am curious about the "rich insiders between government and the syndicatos". How is there money being made on the taxi industry? It might be, I just don't have any experience in that sort of thing. If someone actually understands this 'racket' stuff, I would really appreciate an explanation on how it all operates. I find the subject very interesting.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

Bashful...this is something that would take a long discussion/explanation. But believe me...in taxi service...you want competition versus socialism. And fat cat syndicatos pay a lot of money for the limited licenses. Where do those moneys go? Yep...government. Both in the coffers and under the table in many jurisdictions.

And I kind of like the idea of Uber providing me cost quoting on surgeries or medical supplies. Right now healthcare is the biggest mafia in the world.

Sorry...I shouldn't rant with someone I don't know...but I have ALMOST seen it all in my years...

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

Agree on both points! +1