QCOSTARICA – If the current bill presented by the government is fruitful, Costa Rica would join a list of several countries in Latin America and the rest of the world in which digital platform companies and taxi drivers would coexist harmoniously, to the point that the technology companies allow them to join their list of drivers, providing both modes of transportation in parallel.
This is one of the claims of the bill presented to the Legislative Assembly last week by the Government.
Read more: Limit on the number of drivers on Uber, DiDi and taxis worries experts
From Mexico to Argentina, along with countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Peru, already offer the possibility that the transport requested through a mobility application can be offered by taxi drivers.
Likewise, in the United States and Canada, users can take a taxi, having requested a vehicle through these platforms, as is also the case in Australia, France, India, Spain, the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan, where the apps have allowed taxi drivers to offer complementary services, increasing their reach and profits.
“As soon as the right conditions exist, Uber will make the platform available to share its innovation and benefits with taxi drivers, as is already happening successfully in other countries in the region,” said Sylvia Alvarado, Uber Public Policy Manager for Central America, the Caribbean and the Andean region.
On the other hand, taxi drivers from Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, India and Russia have also developed their own applications in parallel, in order to expand and strengthen their service offer to customers.
Latin American experience
In several Latin American cities, such as Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Mendoza and Rosario (Argentina), São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Bogota, Medellin and Cali (Colombia), Mexico City and Guadalajara (Mexico) and Lima (Peru), taxi drivers are authorized to associate with digital mobility platforms such as Uber, according to information provided by different media reports.
