Most of you would be aware about the recent troubling news about banning Uber and Careem. First things first, these services have not been debarred, not yet anyway. These companies have been given a certain number of days to get ‘registered’. If history has taught us anything, this registration is more like a euphemism for filling up relevant pockets. 'Pockets' belong to certain unscrupulous individuals who are so twisted by greed, self-indulgence and God knows what else there degenerate minds have managed to cook up, that they fail to realize the implications of such a step.
Why the ban is a stupid idea?
Let me tell you what banning these services means. For starters, you are preventing at least 15000 people from earning an honest-to-God livelihood and this figure only pertains to the drivers in Lahore. Moreover, this figure is only going to grow as the popularity of these rider-hailing-mobile-apps increases. In the current time of crisis where people already have a hard time making their ends meet; the government should be working to promote such ventures rather than creating hurdles for them and their beneficiaries. And although I am unfamiliar with the ins and outs of economics, even I can think of the numerous economic benefits of these campaigns. It is no secret that the public transport provisions in Pakistan are below par. They simply cannot meet the rising demand. I myself have gone through the horror of using these facilities. Old decrepit vans and buses where getting on and off these vehicles without being bruised or scraped is quite an achievement. Although, at least in Lahore, the LTC (Lahore Transport Company) has introduced a fleet of new vehicles and we have the metro bus here, but in times of need these can be dangerously overcrowded and travelling in them is more like participating in a furiously contested battle. Uber and Careem can go a long way in resolving this issue. In our society, moving about for women and families is not so simple. Many women face harassment on their day-to-day commute. This is not highlighted enough but it is quite a serious issue. Travelling with kids on buses and vans takes more than a smile. Uber and Careem provided the answer to the issues because as it stands, they are one of the safest and most secure modes of travel.
Why now?
What really confusing about this is why now? Uber for instance, has been around in Pakistan for nearly 10 months now. If government had any reservations regarding its services why didn’t they come up with them before? I have another question regarding Uber. On what grounds have these sanctions been put up? Uber simply provides software which connects riders with the drivers. Both parties are independent contractors. Uber does not own any car nor do they have any drivers. None of the drivers work for Uber, rather these drivers are constantly referred to as partners. Drivers are under no obligation to use Uber.
How does Uber work?
Assume that Driver A is a driver who decides to earn money by driving a potential Rider B to his/her destination. What now happens is that the Rider B will request for a ride using Uber app which could route the request to any of the nearest drivers connected to their Uber app. Suppose Driver A receives that request on his or her phone. It will be up to the driver choose whether to take that trip or cancel it. So we have a safe and a secure platform which also allows the concerned parties the freedom of choice. What’s not like about this? Keeping in mind that Uber extends its services to Auto Rickshaws around and the hardly-ever-seen taxis, nobody should really have any objections. Economic benefits, safety, security, freedom and a very dignified mode of travel; Uber and Careem tick most of the right boxes and for that I hope this outrage quickly subsidizes and the population continues to reap benefits of these services.
The image in this post is taken from "https://propakistani.pk/2016/11/04/uber-vs-careem-vs-taxi-one-best".
No comments:
Post a Comment