QCOSTARICA – Following the announcement last week by the Executive Branch, in the company of representatives of digital platforms and taxi drivers, of a new bill that seeks to regulate the operations of Uber and Didi in Costa Rica, the Asociación Privada de Movilidad Tecnológica (APRIMOTEC) – Private Association of Technological Mobility – considers it extremely important to take into account the opinion of drivers about the new regulation.
In addition, the same bill omits considerably important points previously proposed by the association.
That is why, as an organization, they see the fact that this bill has been presented as a very good advance, in order to regulate the activity of transporting people through technological platforms.
From their perspective, this represents an opportunity to open a door for dialogue with the Legislative Assembly, about what benefits drivers or not.
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“In the official act of the announcement that was made from Casa Presidencial, we saw the representation of the taxi drivers, the Government and the platforms, but the representation by the drivers, who are a fundamental piece in carrying out the transport service, was not present. That is why we call on the country’s legislators to carry out consultations with all the sectors involved”, said Alfredo Román, president of APRIMOTEC.
APRIMOTEC is emphatic in the fact that there are some aspects proposed in the bill with which they do not agree. The first of them is regarding the limitation of fleets since this would affect the entrepreneurship of some people. Added to this is the fact that they want to limit the number of drivers on the platforms, so it is necessary to know how an impact study will be carried out on it.
The third point is that this is a platform regulation and that it completely excludes drivers, and that they have no benefit from this project. For example, drivers do not refuse vehicles to carry some emblem or signage, but it is counterproductive for them to have to label the entire car. This and other points should be discussed in the coming weeks.
“Another essential aspect to analyze is the issue of guaranteeing a minimum income for the driver, which would undoubtedly increase the price of the service for users. This bill also does not mention what the profit that the platforms will have for this, which for APRIMOTEC should be a withholding of a maximum of 20%, including in that percentage the amount for the mobility fund,” added Román.
