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Uber\u2019s crisis PR activities have returned to relative normality in Asia after the U.S. firm ran into fresh issues with government regulators\u00a0in two countries this week: Hong Kong and Thailand.<\/p>\n
The ride-sharing giant has been fighting some serious\u00a0corporate fires in the U.S. lately\u00a0\u2014 around its\u00a0toxic work culture<\/a>, connections to\u00a0a\u00a0polarizing U.S.\u00a0President,<\/a>\u00a0and its\u00a0CEO\u2019s attitude to its drivers\u00a0<\/a>\u2014 but it is\u00a0back to basics as\u00a0UberX\u00a0drivers in the two countries come under fire\u00a0for operating\u00a0in legal grey areas.<\/p>\n In Hong Kong, five UberX drivers were fined\u00a0HK$10,000 (around $1,300) and banned from driving for 12 months after being found guilty of\u00a0using their vehicles for commercial services, Reuters reported<\/a>. The fines date back to a raid in August 2015, reportedly carried out following complaints from licensed taxi drivers. The drivers themselves bear the legal brunt of the case because of Hong Kong\u2019s legal system, so the uncertain legal status of the service could deter other drivers from signing up.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very disappointed with today\u2019s court decision, which we believe goes against the best interests of riders, drivers and the city of Hong Kong itself,\u201d Uber said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have consistently sought to partner with authorities and other stakeholders to find solutions that enable ridesharing to flourish, and we will be submitting proposals for regulatory reform to the existing Government and the three Chief Executive candidates,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in Thailand,\u00a0authorities in both capital city Bangkok and Chiang Mai, where Uber launched in late 2016, have also cracked down on so-called unlicensed taxi operators. A police sting in Bangkok netted at least 23 UberX drivers, the Bangkok Post reported<\/a>, while local transport workers in Chiang Mai are said to be roaming the city\u2019s streets<\/a>\u00a0taking photographs of drivers which are then presented to authorities.<\/p>\n Ironically, authorities in Thailand have caught Uber drivers by posing as customers. That\u2019s something that Uber guards against with its Greyballing program, the existence of which was revealed this month<\/a>, but the company recently pledged to\u00a0curtail its usage<\/a>\u00a0in relation to authorities.<\/p>\n Like Hong Kong, Thai law doesn\u2019t forbid taxi app services \u2014 the government set up its own \u2018All Thai Taxi\u2019 app and\u00a0Grab\u2019s licensed taxi service is legal \u2014 but it doesn\u2019t permit consumer vehicles to be used for commercials purposes. That makes the legal status of UberX and Grab\u2019s GrabCar private service murky at best, despite the fact that\u00a0both services have operated in Thailand for more than two yeas.<\/p>\n In response, Uber has asked its customers and drivers in Thailand to sign a digital petition<\/a> as a sign of their support.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government wants Uber to be regulated under the Motor Vehicle Act B.E.2522 (1979), which was drafted over 38 years ago when the concept of \u201cridesharing\u201d and smartphone technology didn\u2019t exist. By insisting on this, the country risks missing out on the full benefits that ridesharing brings to riders, drivers and cities. It also goes against the government\u2019s \u201cThailand\u2019s 4.0 initiative,\u201d which aims to make the country into a regional hub of technology and innovation,\u201d Uber wrote on the website.<\/p>\n Last year, Thailand\u2019s government banned motorbike taxi on-demand services<\/a> from both Uber and Grab following complaints from Bangkok\u2019s incumbent motorbike taxi industry. Grab has since pivoted its service to logistics in response, working with customers such as Rocket Internet\u2019s FoodPanda and consumers. UberMoto, Uber\u2019s rival service, was\u00a0withdrawn entirely.<\/p>\n Asia has been a mixed bag of results for Uber. While the company competes fairly squarely with rivals like Grab (Southeast Asia) and Ola (India), it is in the process of selling its loss-making China business to rival Didi<\/a> and recently \u201cpaused\u201d its service in Taiwan<\/a> following pushback from regulators.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Uber’s crisis PR activities have returned to relative normality in Asia after the U.S. firm ran into fresh issues with government regulators\u00a0in two countries this week: Hong Kong and Thailand. The ride-sharing giant has been fighting some serious\u00a0corporate fires in the U.S. lately\u00a0— around its\u00a0toxic work culture, connections to\u00a0a\u00a0polarizing U.S.\u00a0President,\u00a0and… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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