Yesterday, I was opportune to request an Uber. Within 10 to 15 minutes, the Uber driver arrived and off we went to Ogba from Yaba, in Lagos, Nigeria.
While in the car, I was wondering why so many people are against Uber and other ride hailing services that have transformed and revolutionised the transport industry.
From Kenya to South Africa, Canada, Australia and Egypt among others, taxi drivers in these countries have protested against Uber’s mode of operation. They argued that Uber is running them out of business. This will be the case because the taxi drivers charge indiscriminately and their cars are rickety.
Despite widespread protests against the sharing economy platform, research revealed that the impact was muted. For instance, whilst it typically resulted in a fall in income of around 10% among salaried drivers, it resulted in a 50% rise in the number of self-employed drivers in some U.S. cities.
Furthermore, having Uber and other ride hailing services in a country like Nigeria has created much-needed jobs. Persons who never imagined riding a car for a living are now doing so.
So the question is why people are taxi drivers against Uber despite this clear benefits? Granted, their operations require a degree of regulation but this does not mean that they should be treated with scorn. In fact, some taxi drivers have gone as far as demanding for their outright ban.
The truth is technology is changing and influencing almost everything around us. Whoever is not ready to accept these changes would be bulldozed off the road and technology will simply ride on. It is unstoppable.
So ever is unhappy with Uber and other ride hailing services should….
2 Comments
Whoever that is unhappy with UBER should stay on their own. Same thing happens when BRT was introduced. I don’t know why some people refuse to be moving with Technology. As for me and my family, we support Uber. Honestly, Uber is cheap.
UBER has come to stay. Those unhappy with this new and latest development should fall in line. They should look inwards and think of how to pattern their line of business the same way as Uber. The only thing that’s permanent in this life is CHANGE.