Uber gets political as latest PR drive hits back at calls for firm to be shut down
Uber has turned to politics in its latest publicity drive as it urged users of its service to fight back against a push to shut the company down in NSW.
Ahead of the upcoming NSW state election, the company has sent an email blast to customers, with the ride sharing business urging voters to tell their local election candidates why they choose to use the company.
The move follows what Uber said is pressure being piled on politicians by taxi firms to close the firm.
“The NSW Election is on Saturday 28th March and politicians are asking for your vote,” Uber Sydney general manager David Rohrsheim said in the email to its database. “It’s time to tell them why you choose to ride with Uber.
“The taxi industry has been pressurising politicians and candidates to shut down Uber. They want to stop you from having a choice about how you get around your city. Let your local candidates know what you love about Uber and tell them that it’s time to introduce sensible ridesharing regulations.
“It’s important that the candidates understand what Uber means to you and that you want their support before the election.”
The email contains a link to a map of NSW where email addresses of the main candidates can be found. It also compares the regulations of regular taxi to those of Uber X drivers.
The move into the political arena for Uber follows its dabble with cute animals last month which saw the firm involved in a kitten cuddles-for-cash controversy.
Read Uber’s email below:
CONTACT YOUR CANDIDATES
Hi Nic,
The NSW Election is on Saturday 28th March and politicians are asking for your vote.
It’s time to tell them why you choose to ride with Uber. The taxi industry has been pressuring politicians and candidates to shut down Uber. They want to stop you from having a choice about how you get around your city.
Let your local candidates know what you love about Uber, and tell them that it’s time to introduce sensible ridesharing regulations.
Click ‘Contact Now’ to let your candidates know why you want them to support Uber.
Whoever is elected on 28 March will get to decide the future of ridesharing in Sydney. It’s important that the candidates understand what Uber means to you, and that you want their support before the election.
Thank you again for your support!
Uber do not provide receipts for Uber-X rides. This constitutes an illegal transaction and they evade paying GST.
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It’s time we stopped defending the taxi monopoly and opened it up to genuine competition.
For users, it’s pretty clear which one offers a better, safer choice.
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Anon – UberX DOES provide receipts for UberX rides (via email) so YOU are sharing incorrect information.
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@anon – that is not correct. I user Uber X regularly and always receive a receipt at the conclusion of each ride. I also find their customer service prompt, polite and fair if and when a query is made.
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@Anon – that’s incorrect. I use UberX (as well as Uber Black and Taxi) all the time and you get receipts delivered to your inbox pretty much as soon as you finish the transaction and step out of the car.
For too long have taxi drivers (Sydney specifically) got away with bad driving, late or no arrivals, incorrect routes, messy/dirty riding environments, fare refusals, and rude (and inappropriate) behaviour…Uber has finally made drivers accountable, trackable and contactable.
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uber not pay gst and tax, not follow the law, the law is same everyone, where the insurances? they just want make money, not take care uber driver.
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I’m in Melbourne so say no more about taxis here, I had my first uber ride a couple of weeks ago and had a very polite driver James arrive within 6 minutes knew exactly how to get to where I wanted to go was polite with a clean car. I can’t say I have ever experienced that from any taxi driver in Melbourne. I will never use taxis again while I can get uber
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haha @edwin. very good.
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Edwin, you are misinformed and poorly spoken.
Uber follow the law and pay their taxes like everyone else.
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It’s hard enough getting people to vote now they want us to do what? I really don’t care about it to take any action. You are a full profit company not a charity that is doing anything beneficial. Get over yourselves and let the polli’s deal with real issues.
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Dr Zaius, why so worry about the court, send e-mail to everyone? if they follow the law don’t have to worry.
GST AND TAX -it is not receipts.
if they want give ride-sharing mean -free service- not make money.
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Dr Zaius,Debra read this:
http://www.cnet.com/au/news/ho.....you-think/
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I rate my 0.0000001% chance of being hit over the head with a claw hammer by an Uber driver against the 50% chance that my cab driver is either –
A. Trying to rip me off
B. Much more expensive
C. Unfriendly
D. Has a smelly unkempt cab
Keep fighting the good fight Edwin!
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Dr Zaius , i am not fight cab, i just want everyone follow the law.
READ ALL THIS : THIS NOT HAPPEN HERE
jas @checkit0utgirl 15h15 hours ago
why in the hell is this uber driver driving without a license so I couldn’t even get on base.
OriginalFattyy✨ @fattyyfattyy 13h13 hours ago
Being charged $104.00 for a uber ride that I didn’t even use ….
Nadine Parangi @parangiphotos 8h8 hours ago
My uber driver smells like farts….. Must get out now!!!! #HelpMe
Marc Malkin @marcmalkin 23h23 hours ago
My #uber car on the way to see #jimmykimmel. I wanted to hurl. I mean, the worst.
@scsw
@Uber_NYC 3 fake ubers offered me a ride while I stood outside Terminal D at LGA. No real @uber driver could find this mystery location.
MANY MORE
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@Edwin,
So stop bitching about the ‘dangers of uber’ and consider why people are fed up with taxi’s plus you’re as likely to be clobbered, run down or fingered by a cabbie just like an Uber driver (for your reading pleasure below).
Uber offers choice and we want and deserve it.
– Cab driver sexually assaults college student
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/.....88561.html
– Cab driver attacks passenger with a meat cleaver
http://www.independent.ie/iris.....83281.html
– Cab driver convicted of rape
http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....-1.1777650
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I’m all for competition too, but level playing field competition. Pay for the right to be in the road as a professional driver, as taxi owners have. Uber cars don’t carry insurance that covers anyone because it’s private driver insurance – wrong type, therefore invalid. Crash in an Uber Car, and you the passenger are uninsured AND jointly liable because you have transacted with the illegal driver in the commission of an illegal act. It’s going to get very ugly before it gets pretty – bank on it!
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Perhaps if the taxi companies improved their cars, drivers, service, lowered their prices and actually competed rather than just saying “No” we would all have more sympathy.
Users enthusiastic embrace of Uber shows how much the current system needs improving.
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HI Matt ,
only u need unpaid gst and break law company not we..
refer 9news servey 67% pepole ask to ban uber
http://www.9news.com.au/nation.....ces-in-vic
refer
http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/.....dents.html
Deaths from Uber Accidents
Seven Year Old San Francisco Girl Struck and Killed By Uber Driver; Uber Denies Responsibility (SFgate.com)
Alleged Uber and Lyft Driver Assaults
Boston Uber Driver Charged with indecent Assault and Battery (Boston Globe)
Off-Duty LA Uber Driver Accused of Sexual Assault (Biz Journals)
Chicago Uber Driver With Felony Conviction Charged With Battery For Allegedly Hitting Passenger (Forbes)
Writer and Activist Reports Being Choked in DC; Uber Denies The Event and Responsibility (ValleyWag)
DC Uber Driver Allegedly Assaults Customer for Burping (Washington City Paper)
San Francisco Uber Customer Claims Abuse and Assault by Uber Driver (Pando)
Passenger Struck In Head With Hammer by UberX Driver (Forbes)
Uber Driver Pulls Gun on Valet in Atlanta (Pando)
Uber Driver Punches Passenger in Oklahoma (NewsOK.com)
Lyft Driver Attacks Pedestrian in San Francisco (NBC Bay Area)
Lyft Driver Brandishes Knife in Los Angeles (LA Weekly)
Uber Customer Sues for $2M over Alleged Driver Stabbing in DC (DCInno)
Alleged Sexual Assaults & Harassment Incidents by Uber & Lyft Drivers
DC Uber Driver Allegedly Rapes Customer (Betabeat.com)
Uber Driver Charged with Fondling Passenger in Chicago (NBC Chicago)
DC Uber Driver Arrested for Alleged Rape But Not Charged Despite Strong Evidence (Washington Post)
Another DC Uber Driver Accused of Molesting Uber Rider (ValleyWag)
Passenger Struck In Head With Hammer by UberX Driver (Forbes)
Uber Driver in India Accused of Rape (BBC)
Orlando Uber Rider Allgedly Touched by Uber Driver (Dailydot.com)
Alleged Assault by Chicago Uber Driver in November of 2014 (Chicago Tribune)
London Uber Driver Asks Rider for Oral Sex (Buzzfeed)
Journalist Sexually Harassed and Stalked By Uber Driver (The Daily Beast)
“Rideshare” Driver Sends Seemingly Endless Amount of Creepy Text Messages to Rider (ValleyWag)
Three San Francisco Women Say Uber Driver Sexually Harassed Them (ABC News)
Uber focused on safety after another driver charged with sexually assaulting customer (My Fox Chicago)
Alleged Kidnappings By Uber Drivers
Driver Allegedly Kidnaps Drunk Woman in LA and Take to Motel (ValleyWag)
Woman Claims Uber Driver Kidnapped Rider; Uber Claims “Inefficient Route” (The Daily Beast)
DC Uber Driver Takes Riders on High Speed Chase (Washington Post)
Uber Driver Takes Woman On Nightmare $293 Zigzagging Odyssey (Gothamist)
in australia
Uber driver arrested over alleged sex assault in Melbourne …
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/&#.....7180593316
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Far out. Why is it the defenders of the old school Taxi’s are always nutjobs. Edwin, kindly b*gger off this thread will you!? You are not a Mumbrella user, you are a troll.
Until I found Uber it was a lottery catching a cab from Melbourne airport into the city. – Will the taxi smell?
– Will the driver know the way?
– Will the driver pretend he doesnt know the way?
– Will the driver send texts along the highway?
– Will the driver intimidate me?
Uber all the way for me now.
The one thing about Uber, that I beleive could help sell itself to the wider Australian community, is to pay more taxes in Oz. (Admittedly the taxi cartels probably swerve more tax than Uber do pay, so it probably is a non arguament..?)
Taxi trolls on this thread, who appear to be ‘blow in’s – DO ONE!
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Edwin, you googling ‘Uber incidents’ doesn’t build a strong case at all – Taxi’s have a long sordid history and (as mentioned above) you seem to be simply trolling. This isn’t a site for taxi drivers and since Uber arent breaking the law (and are goddamn awesome), nobody cares what you think.
Oh and one last anecdote for you…
Over summer I to was incorrectly charged $98 for an Uber ride. I submitted an online enquiry and the money was back in my account by the end of the day. Would a taxi service do the same if I had a dispute with a payment or I dropped my wallet in the cab? No! The driver would keep my wallet and the company would tell me to f**k right off.
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GST is only payable if the driver is registered for GST. I was made aware of this when I requested a tax invoice. It’s hit and miss on that front.
Nonetheless, you get a receipt, albeit not a specifically useful one sometimes when submitting expenses…
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I feel I should jump in here, as someone who has never used Uber and never will on my own – due to the string of highly publicised sexual assaults/harassment on female passengers from Uber drivers.
I do take cabs however, and before people jump on me saying ‘well your taxi driver could rape/stalk/kill you’ – sure that’s correct.
But as a young, single woman – I feel a registered, licensed cab is my best option. When I’m out at night, getting late night public transport by myself is not an option, walking home is not an option, hitchhiking is not an option – Uber for me is not that much better than hitch hiking. In my mind i assume the driver can easily create a profile with a fake name, and if anything happens that driver can easily delete his profile and create a new one later on (I’m not sure if this is how it works but that’s my current perception).
In comparison to a licensed cab in Melbourne, I know the driver has had training, a criminal background check, an ID displayed and also that it is very, very rare for bad things to happen. Yes there’s been a few horror stories over the years, but I see the horror Uber stories a lot more frequently than horror taxi driver stories.
When I way up the two, I feel my safest option is the cab over Uber. No situation is perfect, but I need to make a decision on the safest way for me to get home and if anything bad happened to me I would live with the memory for the rest of my life.
I would consider using Uber if they introduced a ladies-only service, female drivers that only pick up female passengers.
I understand why the men on this comment thread love Uber, but think about the fact that you have never been on the other side – as a man you will never understand the fear that women experience every day and vulnerability of knowing that if things turn bad, you have no chance of fighting it. You will never know the fear of walking 100 metres from a train station platform to your house, with your keys out and the sigh of relief when you close the door behind you. It’s not your fault, it’s the way it is – but you have to understand why some people (mainly women) are rejecting Uber and feel the licensed cabs, while not perfect are our best option.
Not being a troll or trying to flame Uber, just offering my perspective.
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@Samantha…. The key in the above is ‘Ive never used the app’.
When you order a car, the drivers details, a pic, rego, etc all come up. This holds them MUCH more accountable than an anonymous M78998609670 number that is the only form of ID in most cabs.
Give it a crack and let go of the cotton wool blanket!
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Edwin, taxi drivers in Melbourne aren’t much better I have felt unsafe on more than one occasion and I’m sure I remember reports of women being attached by taxi drivers. Anything you use will have an element of risk it is the way things are.
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Samantha, the uber drivers are checked out thoroughly with ID checks, police checks and safe driving checks, they aren’t just randoms off the street that the company haven’t looked into
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@Edwin…
time to now google the number of incidents involving taxi drivers in Australia and compare that to the ONE incident you dropped in at the end of your list covering irrelevant issue from the US.
I think you will find that your argument is completely flawed ! Lets compare apples with apples mate
Uber is brilliant and @Dr Zaius is spot on – much more accountable than a taxi
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as driver- not safe-not insurance, a lot problem , the driver only earn aud 4 per-hour, uber take 20% from earning. total scam, i hope someone check this. have to work long hour-totaly unsafe.
Uber banned in Germany, French , Korea when in australia?
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Actually, (referencing the ‘tax’ element of my previous comment): All Uber payments are electronic, so:
The ATO will know, exactly, how much tax, to the cent, Uber is paying in Australia. They will also know how much all taxi companies are paying and be able to audit these figures v Uber. Then a little per capita sum and bingo.
It would be very interesting to understand if Uber do actually contribute more tax than the old school cartels. Very interested to understand how that looks.
Potentially Uber could:
– better experience for the passenger
– better experience for the driver
– more tax for the government coffers
Win, win, win.
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Expecting Uber to break the back of the Taxi Council is like introducing cane toads to deal with cane beetles. Uber’s model is based around algorithmic cruelty, as we saw during the Lindt Cafe siege, and the people who need taxis most, pensioners, are the first that Uber’s model automatically kicks to the curb.
Uber’s contempt for laws (and, for that matter, for the poor) stems from their founders, who are avowed Objectivists. The madness that’s infected the US Republican party has no place in Australia.
I’ve found that most of the taxi drivers that get jobs from the apps that work within the law tend to be the kind of taxi drivers you want, anyway; clean cabs, friendly, knowledgable.
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I regularly caught legion, apple and taxi combined cabs for over two years when I worked in production and I can tell you hands down Uber kicks their backsides by 500%
The incidents I had in these cabs ranged from terrifying, to disgusting to genuine fear for my life. One fat old man ran clean into the back of a stationary bus on broadway one morning – the dumbest accident I’ve witnessed on the road. Another backed into my neighbours car and kept on driving without acknowledging it, and countless drivers were rude, creepy, stinky, confrontational or just plain annoying.
Uber is incredible by comparison – I never feel unsafe, I’m either left in peace or we have a friendly/appropriate chat and I get to where I’m going quickly, cheaply and in one piece. Add to that the convenience of real time tracking so I know whether I am indeed waiting for an actual cab and that I don’t need to stand out in a darkened street for 30 mins hoping I don’t get mugged – and you have one brilliant company who has improved the user experience times a million.
So while it’s a for profit company and it’s questionable as to whether we should rally the pollies for it, I’d be really sad to lose all of that because I think they offer a magnificent service.
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