05122016Thu
Last updateFri, 06 May 2016 1pm

Letters To The Editor - September 19, 2015

Dear Sir,

Jalisco government officials should restrain from implementing regulations that affect the operation of innovative companies such as Uber and instead should provide new incentives to help traditional taxi owners improve their service.

Taxi drivers are reacting aggressively to the new competition because they know that their service is not as good. 

The new companies offer a modern form of transportation, with the following characteristics: 

-Their cars are brand new, clean, have A/C, and drivers give you a bottle of water and offer you to play your own music 

-They have an insurance that covers not only damages but also extended coverage for passengers

-Passengers are informed of the identity of the driver – name, photograph, phone number, as well as the brand, color and license plates

-Customers are able to pay with their credit or debit cards so they don’t need to carry around any cash in their pickets 

 -Their system perfectly calculates routes and provides an accurate estimate of how much customers will end up paying

-There is absolute transparency in every payment because customers are informed exactly what they’re being charged based on time and distance

-There is always a car available, and if there isn’t one right around the corner, they tell you how long you’ll have to wait for them to pick you up

-You can select the route you want to take so there is no confusion on weather the driver is taking you on a longer route to make you pay more 

-After they drop you off at your destination you can evaluate the service and present any suggestions you have

-Uber and Citydrive partners and drivers pay more taxes than taxi owners and drivers because they automatically emit invoices to all of their customers, contrary to taxi drivers who declare only a small part of their proceeds

Jalisco is a state that “promotes” the development of science, technology and innovation, according to a law emitted in 2009. Limiting these new concepts of transportation not only impacts development but also clouds the way young citizens look at their government. 

We should stand up to defend our legitimate right to a better service. 

Claudia Wolstein Ochoa