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Uber Drivers Arrested By Undercover Cops In Hong Kong
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?
Can we also quit pretending that these "crackdowns" are about safety? They are 100% about money.
You're completely right in what you type, but extremely wrong in what you mean.
There are hired driver regulations in most countries. Some of the regulations are to increase local tax revenue, some are for road safety, some are for passenger safety, and some are for driver safety. However it is 100% about Uber trying to increase profit by illegally operating on lower costs than local regulation permits for hired driver organizations.
Why was it made illegal again? To protect the taxi industry. That's it. Safety, insurance, etc were tacked on later, but the scarcity was created solely to protect the taxi industry - not the drivers, the plate holders
Do you see any other path to breaking the taxi industry monopoly other than disobedience? How?
The law is a living thing and constantly subject to interpretation and modification. Laws come and go, what is illegal comes and goes. Often, very often, the ONLY way to change the law is to break it first, making breaking it popular, and the lawmakers will come around.
Is it still illegal for woman to vote? Smoke a joint?