Uber Offers Free Rides To Koreans, Hopes They Won't Report Illegal Drivers

itwbennett writes Uber Technologies is offering free rides on its uberX ride-sharing service in the South Korean capital of Seoul, after city authorities intensified their crackdown on illegal drivers by offering a reward to residents who report Uber drivers to police. South Korean law prohibits unregistered drivers from soliciting passengers using private or rented vehicles and carries a penalty of up to two years in prison or fines of up to 20 million won.

Comments

Re:I wonder why...

[icebike]

I would think the drivers should be licensed the same as taxi drivers, as far drivers licence is concerned.
And insurance sounds like a good idea too.
Maybe even a criminal background check.

But I find it rather amazing how every municipality around the world is rushing to the defense of existing taxicab services.
I wonder about the sheer amount of money that must be changing hands to induce all city governments to sing the same song from the same hymnal in perfect unison. How does that happen? You can't get two city governments in the same state to agree about much of anything. But these cab companies have cities cowed all over the world.

The funny thing, is if cab companies adopted some digital hailing and hiring tools, they could compete on price and availability.