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Uber now available in Buenos Aires

Uber now available in Buenos Aires

Old Apr 12, 2016, 10:12 am
  #1  
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Uber now available in Buenos Aires

Today (April 12) at 4pm Uber starts its operations in Buenos Aires and surrounding areas. We shall see how the taxi drivers react.

According to some websites, the base fare will be 15 ARS with 4.50 ARS added per km, which is cheap compared to taxis.

https://twitter.com/uber_arg/status/719899339406053381
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Old Apr 12, 2016, 10:20 am
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I'm glad I'm not around for the initial quilombo.

I had a taxi last week that was emblematic of what is going to go wrong. He was from Salta, I think he arrived hours earlier, and needed his GPS to get to Corrientes / Florida from Paseo Colon. He also asked me what the name of "that structure" is (the Obelisco). He then turned down a street closed for construction, at which point I told him "chao - salgo" and paid him most of the fare and walked the last few blocks.

(I'm an UBER user. I just don't want to be around for the protests, blockades, and whatever else might brew. I also live (in the USA) in a place where we get lots of weekend drivers from elsewhere that come to the inner Bay Area for the weekend to make a living and don't know where they're going.)
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Old Apr 12, 2016, 10:29 am
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I agree its going to be interesting to see how this all develops....
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Old Apr 12, 2016, 2:55 pm
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As I write this, local TV is reporting various protests (street blockades) by Taxis at various strategic parts of town, including access to EZE International Airport.

The Newspapers are saying that Uber has openly defied the Buenos Aires City Government by deciding to commence operations without proper licensing and without the basic requirements that Car Service and Taxi's need to operate legally.

It would appear that this will go to the City Courts, I am expecting the Legal Counsel of the Taxi Union to file a formal complaint and get some sort of Court ruling quite soon. It is going to get interesting.

Stay tuned....
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Old Apr 13, 2016, 11:55 am
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I tried to book Uber yesterday at 9.30pm from downtown (Corrientes and Reconquista) but after three attempts the system insisted there were no cars on the area. Surprising as they claim to have over 18,000 drivers in BA. Ended up going home in a reliable, traditional, old-school taxi.

A friend used Uber yesterday to go from his place in Caballito to EZE. He was picked up by a guy in a Renault Duster, so plenty of room for bags, and the bill came to a sweet 250 ARS + tolls, exactly half the price of an official taxi/remis.
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Old Apr 14, 2016, 6:47 am
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Originally Posted by Marambio
A friend used Uber yesterday to go from his place in Caballito to EZE. He was picked up by a guy in a Renault Duster, so plenty of room for bags, and the bill came to a sweet 250 ARS + tolls, exactly half the price of an official taxi/remis.
Good to hear. ^

Competition is what this country needs. I've become rather pissed off with paying inflated prices for inferior products and services.
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Old Apr 14, 2016, 11:55 am
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The city government has joined the Taxi Unions in the legal fight against Uber. Their biggest 'stick' at this point is that Uber does not have any sort of business license, nor have they established any sort of Argentine Legal entity. Uber does not even have an Argentine Tax ID number, so on top of all the transportation regulations that they are breaking, they are also evading taxes.

I can see that all this is part of the strategy that Uber has, but regardless of how this all plays out, these initial months of "grey" operations is going to cost them $$$, the City Tax Office is going to go after them and the penalties are going to be hefty. Would not be surprised if some of the Uber Management Teams employees get thrown in front of a Judge over the next couple of days.

Looking at a broader picture, I agree with Hiddy that the Argentine Economy needs more competition, and I am a 100% pro business (greedy) Capitalist. Having said that, I also think that it is not reasonable that Uber be allowed to create unfair competition that will drive many Taxi Drivers to bankruptcy. I support Uber in their quest to be a market player in Buenos Aires, but they must do so playing fair & square, following all the laws & regulations regarding of the City & Country they operate in.

The silly excuse that Uber is only some sort of private platform that connects individuals is a gross simplification that is totally unreasonable....

Stay Tuned.
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Old Apr 14, 2016, 2:18 pm
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I'm here on vacation. Funny seeing how scared all the taxis are of it. Many taxis have "No to Uber" signs in their windows. Last night my wife just told me Uber started operations. We were coming back home in a taxi and he heard us talking about it in English. He asked us if we can give him our opinion as foreigners on Uber. He also asked how it works. He said he didn't even know how it works.

We explained how we take it all over the world and how great it works. We even opened up the Uber App and showed him how it showed an Uber car was 5 minutes away.

He was polite but then spoke the entire ride from Palermo Hollywood to Recoleta why he is against it. How he pays 900 pesos per day to rent his taxi and has to make ends meat. He also said it's not fair that people with no license, possibly no insurance in the event of a car accident, etc.

It will be interesting to see how well it works here. In other cities, there aren't as many taxis but here there are tons and tons of taxis. Today I tried to take one and opened the App. First it said an Uber was 5 minutes away. Then when I clicked on it, the App just hung forever. In the meantime we saw at least 15 taxis go by. My wife finally just said to grab a normal taxi.

I used to live in Buenos Aires and only had a tough time finding a taxi when it's raining or on holidays. I'll try again before we leave but sounds like there are still some glitches with the software.
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Old Apr 14, 2016, 3:31 pm
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I agree Uber have to follow correct procedures but this smacks of just another story of monopolies and protectionism. I'm in no doubt they'll be allowed to carry on operating but probably not before they are forced to raise prices.
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Old Apr 15, 2016, 6:25 am
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Post how does Uber work in the US & elsewhere...?

I don't know how it works in the US, but, what are the potential insurance & liability issues if an Uber vehicle is involved in an accident and the "customer" is injured or killed...? Also, are Uber vehicles in the US required to have any of the licensing or other regulatory issues that a normal Lincoln Town Car service has to have to be able to be in business...??
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Old Apr 15, 2016, 9:30 am
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Originally Posted by Gaucho100K
I don't know how it works in the US, but, what are the potential insurance & liability issues if an Uber vehicle is involved in an accident and the "customer" is injured or killed...? Also, are Uber vehicles in the US required to have any of the licensing or other regulatory issues that a normal Lincoln Town Car service has to have to be able to be in business...??
From the moment the Driver accepts the Uber ride assignment to the completion of the ride. Both Passanger and Driver are on Ubers Insurance Policy in the USA..

Read here:
https://newsroom.uber.com/56463/

Last edited by Flying Machine; Apr 15, 2016 at 9:40 am
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Old Apr 15, 2016, 10:55 am
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Interesting times. I'll be down in BA next month after a two year absence, and will try out Uber if they are still operating and not in the middle of an injunction at this point.

Uber is highly experienced at disrupting entrenched taxi interests in moderately hostile regulatory environments, so if I had to make a wager, it wouldn't be on the BA taxi industry remaining static.
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Old Apr 15, 2016, 4:25 pm
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Well many people hadn't even heard of Uber....they have now.

Great free publicity drive. ^
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Old Apr 15, 2016, 6:47 pm
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Interesting. Just a few days later they order Uber to cease operations in the city!
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ub...-idUSKCN0XB2MG
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Old Apr 16, 2016, 1:28 pm
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Interesting..... and makes perfect sense. Uber should be able to get a pretty good rate from the large insurance companies. Sounds like this will be part of the package they will implement here if they want to operate....

Originally Posted by Flying Machine
From the moment the Driver accepts the Uber ride assignment to the completion of the ride. Both Passanger and Driver are on Ubers Insurance Policy in the USA..

Read here:
https://newsroom.uber.com/56463/
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