Uber believes that the regulation for its platform should be different than the regulation for red taxi drivers due to the characteristics of the drivers.
Andrés Echandi, General Manager of Uber Central America, explained that their drivers have no exclusive dedication to providing this service. They are young people who study and then work with Uber, or maybe pensioners and housewives, so regulating them with the same conditions for red taxis drivers would not be fair and could eliminate their opportunity to work.
The Manager assures they have tried many times to have meetings with hierarchs of the Executive Power but they have not been heard, they have only held conversations with legislators.
It should be recalled that the Minister of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT), Rodolfo Méndez Mata, requested an extension of 30 days to present the project to regulate the collaborative platforms.
The work table for this initiative is composed of technicians from the Ministry of Finance, MOPT, Transit and taxi drivers. Uber has not been included -according to Méndez- because the government does not negotiate with “illegals”.