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Uber Drivers Arrested By Undercover Cops In Hong Kong

Posted by timothy on from the voluntary-interactions-among-adults dept.

The Stack reports that local police have raided Uber's Hong Kong office, "after several officers posed as Uber customers and arrested drivers on Tuesday morning in an attempt to put an end to illegal taxi services. Five drivers who had offered their services across the taxi-hailing app were arrested on suspicion of illegally carrying passengers and driving without third-party insurance. The men are being held for further investigation." Are local police quite this concerned in your city with car-sharing dispatch services?

3 of 231 comments (clear)

  1. Can we quit pretending that it's car "sharing"? by Rei · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There's nothing at all related to "sharing" about services like Uber.

    --
    I'll never forget the last thing grandma said to me before she died: "What are you doing in here with that knife?!?"
    1. Re:Can we quit pretending that it's car "sharing"? by Rei · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If by "money" you mean "the money everyone else has to pay in higher insurance premiums due to Uber drivers taking part in commercial driving without paying commercial premiums", then yes.

      Beyond that, even if you don't like the current system, that doesn't mean that you can legally willfully violate it. For better or worse, Uber has a business model built around breaking the law. Don't get so shocked when legal action gets taken.

      --
      I'll never forget the last thing grandma said to me before she died: "What are you doing in here with that knife?!?"
    2. Re:Can we quit pretending that it's car "sharing"? by Jawnn · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't argue the point that Uber drivers and/or Uber itself is breaking laws in many jurisdictions.

      The point is that while some of those laws seem to serve a legitimate purpose (providing insurance protection for passengers, etc.) others are intended to protect the profits and often poor service of the taxi monopoly.

      Perhaps, but before the taxi industry was regulated it was a fucking nightmare. Trust me, you don't want that. No. Really. All the coolness of Uber is going to look like so much dumb-ass naivete if they succeed in making their unregulated service "legal". History... doomed to repeat it, and all that.