It seems to me that going on strike and denying taxi service to customers only encourages those same customers to use ride sharing apps:
Tens of thousands of taxi drivers in South Korea protested in front of the National Assembly Thursday, calling for a ban on Kakao Mobility’s ride-sharing service.
The app was set to move from beta testing to full operation this month, but the company put those plans on indefinite hold after a taxi driver self-immolated in protest in front of the National Assembly and later died.
Taxi industry and labor groups waved banners and held up photos of the deceased driver near the legislature, complaining that such ride-sharing apps pose a direct threat to the livelihood of taxi industry workers.
At least four taxi industry and labor groups took part in the rally, the third of its kind in the past three months. Police estimated 40-to-50-thousand were on the streets.
It seems that taxi drivers going on strike actually encourages people to use carpooling apps even more:
Taxi drivers on Thursday stage a protest outside the National Assembly in western Seoul in opposition to Kakao’s move to introduce a carpooling service. [YONHAP]Taxi drivers from four interest groups gathered outside the National Assembly Thursday to protest Kakao’s move to introduce a carpooling service.
The drivers are demanding legislators make the proposed business illegal, claiming that the service will threaten their livelihoods.
The collective move came after a 24-hour strike on Oct. 18. The strike itself was called two days after Kakao made public on Oct. 16 its plans to introduce the Kakao T carpooling service and began recruiting drivers.
Kakao has not been dissuaded. After the strike, it released an app for carpooling drivers and added a tab for the carpooling service to its existing Kakao T taxi app. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but instead of trying to get the government to give them special treatment, it seems the taxi cab drivers should improve their business model to compete with the ride sharing apps instead.
It wouldn’t be Korea if somebody wasn’t protesting something:
Anti-carpool protesters raise pickets reading “Illegal carpool app service OUT,” “Illegal personal vehicle service in disguise of carpool OUT” and “Keep passenger transport industry ordered.”
A walkout by thousands of taxi drivers in protest against a commercial carpool service disrupted commuters heading to works during morning rush hour on Thursday.
The stoppage began at 4 a.m. to protest against the recent launch of Kakao T Carpool, a ride-sharing service designed to connect ordinary drivers to passengers during the morning and evening rush hours. The taxi drivers claim the top mobile messaging company’s service will kill the industry. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but the ride share apps are a threat to the established taxi industry across the world. The way I look at this is that this would be like retail store workers protesting against Amazon instead of evolving with the times and making a better service or product to entice consumers.
For every asshole taxi driver that refused a ride, refused to stop, drove away as I was opening a door, tried to cheat me, or even stopped to argue with a bus driver while the fare was running–Karma's a bitch, huh? https://t.co/1hbt3sWiL7
If you have the think that there is a lot of elderly taxi cab drivers in South Korea you would be right:
The advanced age of taxi drivers in Seoul has recently become a hot issue after a number of them breathed their last behind the wheel.
According to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, 19.5 percent of all taxi drivers in the nation were 65 or older at the end of last year, and in Seoul 51 percent are over 60.
According to a 2013 study by the KTSA, a whopping 73.1 percent of cab drivers over 65 who had driven taxis for more than 25 years were involved in car accidents in the previous three years, compared to only 7.5 percent who had driven taxis for less than five years.
That means elderly drivers are 10 times more likely to get into accidents than younger ones. [Chosun Ilbo]
This was not a fight Uber was going to be able to win against the powerful taxi lobby in South Korea:
Uber, a taxi-hailing app operator, has suspended its popular ride-sharing service in Korea, succumbing to mounting concerns by Seoul authorities and angry taxi drivers.
The San Francisco-based start-up last week announced it was suspending its UberX budget service that allowed passengers to hail the company’s registered drivers through its smartphone application.
Its premium Uber Black, a limousine service for foreign nationals, senior citizens and handicapped people, will continue operating in accordance with local laws, the company added.
“We stay committed to cooperate to reach a compromise with the city and taxi industry, and look forward to working together to bring regulated options to Seoul,” Uber said Friday in a statement. [Korea Herald]
Via a reader tip comes this article that explains how the Seoul government is trying to shutdown the ride sharing app Uber by indicting the company’s CEO:
South Korea has indicted the chief executive officer and local subsidiary of Uber Technologies Inc for violating a law governing public transport, becoming the latest jurisdiction to challenge the U.S. taxi service provider.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office issued the indictment against CEO Travis Kalanick and the firm’s Korean unit for violating a law prohibiting individuals or firms without appropriate licenses from providing or facilitating transportation services, an Uber spokeswoman said. [Fortune]
You can read the rest at the link, but the Seoul government has been trying to shut down Uber in Korea in order to protect their own taxi drivers and the domestic Daum-Kakao app that provides an Uber like service and is endorsed by the taxi union. This indictment is probably being used to scare Uber out of Korea. It will be interesting to see how this works out.
