Aussie wrote on Jul 14
th, 2017 at 11:28am:
Sure, but they were not operating as though they were Taxis. They too were heavily controlled, regulated and licensed by Government.
But these days anything that takes business away from Taxis should be considered their competition.
On the Gold Coast I'd used Taxis for short interstate trips to get to the airport in the past. These days door to door the fare is around $140 to the Gold Coast airport, not even Brisbane.
Soon the light rail will link to the main rail line and the Gold Coast airport and the main rail line itself to the airport too.
Even before ride sharing apps, if I would travel for 2 or 3 nights it's still far cheaper to drive, park in the offsite parking near the airport and take their shuttle to the terminal.
And on the Gold Coast we even have a tourist shuttle bus that goes around the major hotels and resorts, theme parks and the airport. I'm lucky there is a tourist park 5mins walk from home so I can use the tourist shuttle to and from the airport for $30.
And trying to get a Taxi late at night on a Friday or Saturday night, 2+ hours waiting at the taxi rank. Come new years, if you're in town, it's quicker to walk home (2.5 hours, and you're drunk enough to do it) than wait for a taxi.
People have been begging for alternatives for a long time. Ride Sharing was looking like it would fill that need, but those who started it quickly cashed out and all the industry cares about now is money.
They've become like the Taxi industry.
The problem is for Taxis to compete with what makes ride sharing more popular, they wouldn't be sustainable or people would lose 10s or even 100s of thousands of dollars on the decreased value of their plates. There is also a massive tech divide too. Payment is a pain and there are still booking fees and other charges. Sure they exist in Uber too, but it doesn't cost anywhere near as much as a taxi fare.
It's a real pickle we're in.
At least on the Gold Coast, even with the improving public transport, you need a car. It's a must. And because of that, our roads are stuffed.
The Government need to step in and regulate ride sharing, BUT, if their intention is nothing more than to protect their imposed taxi monopolies, any attempt they make in regulation will be a fail.
I suspect this is what the taxi lobby and advocates want.