Uber in Trinidad and Tobago - TO PAUSE OPERATION May 30 2018

[Miktay]

This is going to hit the airport taxi cartel hard...

nope

Why not?

[10-01]

This is going to hit the airport taxi cartel hard...

nope

Why not?

actually it will foreigners will prefer to use uber than travel with a airport taxi ..... i myself tried a taxi to hme from piarco airport to the west guy told me $400 TT or $80 USD

[Gem_in_i]

High Street to Gulf City Mall costing $32

what's the normal fare for 1 passenger from library cor. to gulf?

$6

So it will be $8pp. If full.
Might be good to use for some destinations if you have 4 persons.

[pugboy]

Them airport taxi old fogies gonna protest

[eliteauto]

This is going to hit the airport taxi cartel hard...

nope

Why not?

actually it will foreigners will prefer to use uber than travel with a airport taxi ..... i myself tried a taxi to hme from piarco airport to the west guy told me $400 TT or $80 USD

It won't affect Airport Taxis or any tourist approved taxis simply because their clientele not interested in taking any random car, sure returning Trinis might take an Uber but actual foreigners are much more picky especially those here on business and pay for taxis without issue. BTW where in the West is $80US? West moorings is $US35 in the day and US$53 in the night unless you were over 4 persons

[redmanjp]

MIN. of works questioning the legality

[Alain_2NR]

[pugboy]

From that press release it would appear the ph pulling bull is highly illegal

[aidan]

^taxes haffi colleck

[toyolink]

If Uber is a facilitator only, their enterprise may be quite legal.
The operators of the vehicles 'for hire' in our jurisdiction, on the other hand may find themselves no different to a 'ph' driver.
The validity of insurance coverage seems to an issue owner/operators should take seriously.

[pugboy]

uber got some arrangement with Guardian General for their drivers to get passenger coverage.

[rspann]

Passengers have coverage ,I get that from the release, but is the vehicle covered while plying for hire contrary to their terms of agreement on their policy ? Re. Not to be used for reward or hire.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Passengers have coverage ,I get that from the release, but is the vehicle covered while plying for hire contrary to their terms of agreement on their policy ? Re. Not to be used for reward or hire.

well the passenger does not pay the driver directly.

[rspann]

Is he using the vehicle for reward? Go check your insurance certificate, you'll see what I mean. Claims could be turned down over this clause. I know claims that have been thrown out because private cars were driven by people who rented them .

[pugboy]

It will be an interesting fight since insurance company usually don't lose
But in this case it is guardian general on uber side

[sMASH]

From that press release it would appear the ph pulling bull is highly illegal

it always was. its just that it fills some gaps where it is greatly needed, and the lapse attitude of the law enforcers give them ah "bligh"

[sMASH]

this thing is very simple, the company pays u to work ur private vehicle as a taxi. u drop strangers for personal gain, where the gain is supplied by the company uber. just because it passes through different hands, doesn't exempt it from being a payment. the specific money notes arent tracked, just the value. and u have discoverable evidence showing that u had to pick up a person, drop them off somewhere, a fare is charged to that passenger, and u are paid a portion of that fare.

hook line and sinker in my books.


and guess what, which insurance company gonna fight to make a pay out because their client was wrong in an accident?
the problem is not the service, the problem is only that it is against the law ( which is nothing meaningful) and when an accident occurs involving an uber driver.

[pugboy]

Either way this insurance argument can't be the first time uber has encountered it in the countries they operate in

[eliteauto]

Machel Montano has become the first Uber rider in Trinidad and Tobago.

The ride-sharing service went live in T&T on Monday at 11 am.

The company announced the beginning of its operations today, stating that Montano is the first person to use an Uber on the island.

"Who better to kick off the launch of Uber as the first person to ride in the island, than Trinidad & Tobago’s very own singer, songwriter and King of Soca, Machel Montano," the company announced.

Montano's manager Che Kothari confirmed to Loop that Montano was the official Rider Zero to kickstart the service in T&T. Rider Zero is an Uber programme where a famous person is selected to start the service in the launch territory.

As part of that campaign anyone who wants to sign up with Uber can use the code Monk33 to get $70 discount off their first ride.

Kothari said Montano's collaboration with Uber shows his continued commitment to innovation and technology.

Uber, a ride-sharing mobile app, first launched in the Latin American and Caribbean region in Panama three years ago and has since rolled out in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

T&T is the first country in the English-speaking Caribbean to receive the service.

Since its entry into the T&T market in October, the company has met with potential drivers, educating them on how the system works and answering questions about safety and pricing.

The service will only be available in Port-of-Spain and San Fernando initially.

The minimum fare per ride is $32.50. The breakdown includes a $20 base fare and $2.50 booking fee. The cost per kilometre is $1.40 and the cost per minute is $1.20.

The app also allows you to estimate the cost of your ride before confirming.

http://www.looptt.com/content/machel-mo ... er-ride-tt

[88sins]

Either way this insurance argument can't be the first time uber has encountered it in the countries they operate in

People still feeling the legality of this is only an insurance issue? Anyone using or participating in this is in fact in breach of the RTA.
All vehicles operating as a taxi for hire must be registered as with H number plates. This applies to taxis, maxis, donkey carts, & Uber.
All persons operating a vehicle for hire as a taxi MUST possess a taxi badge
All persons operating a vehicle as a taxi must have insurance coverage for the for all passengers said vehicle is licensed to carry as well as the vehicle.
All vehicles being operated for hire as a taxi must be inspected & the number of passengers that vehicle is licensed to carry must be displayed.

None of Uber's private vehicle drivers could comply with any of these requirements by law, unless they were already registered as a taxi operator with a registered taxi or they do so in order to operate as such.

[pete]

This is the same thing Uber faces everywhere they go. Home to the airport for me is $35 which is less than a day parking. Seem to have cars around the airport so returning probably will be hassle free as well. I for one would feel much safer in a car from one of these services than a random PH man for the odd occasion I need to get a drop somewhere.

[maj. tom]

what % going to Uber Inc, USA?

I'd rather pay for a taxi driver's roti than Uber San Francisco treats.

PH drivers will drop you in front your gate for a lil extra tip if it not too far off the route. Speaking of which, what was Jack Warner's plan with regard to PH taxis? They do fill in a need for off-route taxi services that the government has ignored with public transport.

[Chimera]

safety and convenience is a key difference here

can you order a PH from inside a fete and get the person name, license plate and type of car and price by the time you walk outside to meet them? (which you could easily screenshot to a friend and tell them call yuh if they dont hear from you in 20 mins) plus you doh need to have cash on you to pay them

if you gone on the avenue to lime and drink 3 beers and find out police have a roadblock in the area.....can you safely find a PH to take you straight home and not hassle you for extra $$$ or kidnap and kill yuh


sometime last year a tourist was complaining in the papers about how a taxi driver charge them $500 for a drop somewhere in POS

i had see some woman on facebook complaining 2 years ago about how she went new york and take a "gypsy" cab (same thing as our PH basically)
and how the driver told her $50 and then when they reach the destination, the driver refuse to give her her bags from the trunk unless she pay him $300 US

language barrier is a next (minor?)thing

i was in china a few years ago and this english speaking woman come into the hotel to ask for assistance because the cab driver refusing to give her her bags from the trunk and insisting his fee is $200 US and how she had agreed to that when he pick her up from the airport. she say how she never agree to that , one cussing in english and the next one cussing in chinese.
it have non-english speakers who come here and can easily order a UBER to go straight to their hotel

i would definitely use it if its to go somewhere that i planning to drink or if its somewhere i won't get safe parking

a DUI ticket is $12,500 now? plus lockup? i get stop in 3 roadblocks saturday night between aranguez,pos and valpark.

[Miktay]

This is going to hit the airport taxi cartel hard...

nope

Why not?

actually it will foreigners will prefer to use uber than travel with a airport taxi ..... i myself tried a taxi to hme from piarco airport to the west guy told me $400 TT or $80 USD

By St James side is approx $300 (night rate) and thaz only cuz i know the driver.

Otherwise he ent going anywhere just so...

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

https://www.facebook.com/Rodeytnt/video ... 676774186/

[Miktay]

i had see some woman on facebook complaining 2 years ago about how she went new york and take a "gypsy" cab (same thing as our PH basically)
and how the driver told her $50 and then when they reach the destination, the driver refuse to give her her bags from the trunk unless she pay him $300 US

There a solution for this. Happened to me going to MIA from Doral with a Haitian yellow cab driver which had a 'broken' meter.

He said doh worry about the broken meter we will arrange the fare when we reach the airport.

When we reach he wanted USD100. I tell him thats too high. He say that iz what he charges. I say OK...but lets call Miami Dade county police and let them sort out the problem.

He boil down like bhagi & end up taking USD20.

But thaz in forin. It probably wont work in Tdad.

[Dizzy28]

Doesn't Yellow Cab have a fixed fare for hotel to airport and airport to hotel trips in Miami?
US$25 or something like that

[Chimera]

Doesn't Yellow Cab have a fixed fare for hotel to airport and airport to hotel trips in Miami?
US$25 or something like that

probably $25 minimum fee for any airport or hotel run

the final costs depends on distance and traffic

check out the difference in prices using this

https://ride.guru/

put in any A and B distance and itll show you what it could cost with all the different options

keep in mind that the taxi price could go up because of traffic as well as the taxi drivers expect a tip

[A172]

Doesn't Yellow Cab have a fixed fare for hotel to airport and airport to hotel trips in Miami?
US$25 or something like that

$35
lyft killing them

[10-01]

This is going to hit the airport taxi cartel hard...

nope

Why not?

actually it will foreigners will prefer to use uber than travel with a airport taxi ..... i myself tried a taxi to hme from piarco airport to the west guy told me $400 TT or $80 USD

It won't affect Airport Taxis or any tourist approved taxis simply because their clientele not interested in taking any random car, sure returning Trinis might take an Uber but actual foreigners are much more picky especially those here on business and pay for taxis without issue. BTW where in the West is $80US? West moorings is $US35 in the day and US$53 in the night unless you were over 4 persons

it was 5 persons includings bags ............. but some folks prefer the uber over local taxis i know a few that are afraid due to the rapid increase in crimes ... but thats ther view ... the cost didnt matter to them it was the safety ....... they hav this theory in ther mind local taxis may stage a robbery etc .... u know how people are