[danielpal]

Although most people will read this and think, oh more shenanigans from UBER, the reality is (and as a Colombian I know), that the government has failed for years to regulate this industry, which is regarded by all consumers as incredibly positive, and continuously has fought against this platforms in an effort to keep the taxi mafia content.

Yet, taxis in Colombia are incredibly dangerous. As a passenger you are exposed to express kidnappings, drivers that are aggressive, adultered fares systems and drive unsafely in cars that don't meet any security guidelines (a large number of passengers have died on rear-collisions given that the most common Bogota taxi has no rear-reinforcement). For decades the taxi mafia's have provided an unsafe & horrible service, when Uber & other platforms arrived, users flocked, yet by means of aggressive protests where they pretty much block the city, the taxi's have forced some parts of the government to try to curve Uber.

Uber however has fought to continue providing the service that the consumers demand, and has otherwise tried to complied with every law. This fine comes from the industry of commerce regulators, who have tried to convince the technology ministry to shut Uber down, with them refusing. I hope Uber continues to operate in Colombia and use their legal means to fight this regulators who are not operating from a consumer benefit standpoint, but rather a political fight to protect a mafia that needs to be dismantled.

[jc_811]

>Yet, taxis in Colombia are incredibly dangerous

It's anecdotal however, this doesn't correlate to my experience(s) there at all. I lived in Colombia from 2013-2015, and return various times per year. For what it's worth, I am not hispanic, and very much look like someone from the US

I've taken yellow taxis in Colombia (in all the major cities) more times than I can count(both by myself and with others) and have never once felt in any danger, nor been ripped off (which has happened to me in other countries I have visited)

Of course there are news reports about taxi rides gone wrong, but in my experience 99.9% of yellow taxi drivers in Colombia are honest people just trying to do their job.

More than happy to answer questions about living in Colombia if anyone's interested.

[csomar]

Did you live in the well-off area too. I live in a country with the same problem but tourists are highly unlikely to see it. The abuse from Taxis is usually in popular/poor neighborhoods.

[imartin2k]

I never use Uber in my country of residence but it was a boon in Colombia (and other countries where taxis have a questionable reputation).

One correction though: Based on what I’ve read, express kidnappings might have happened more often in the past but hardly anymore today. It’s more likely to be robbed at gunpoint from guys on a motorbike, and they like to target taxis (although other cars as well).

[forinti]

The one thing that I found positive about Colombian taxis is that they are very cheap. In this regard, I don't see how Uber could compete.

On the other hand, the cars are falling to bits and the drivers are rather aggressive (although it seemed to me that drivers were careless in general).

[sblawrie]

Uber rides are incredibly cheap in Colombia, too. A 20 minute uberX ride across Medellin probably costs around $4.

[gingabriska]

How do they pay for gas? Is it subsidized or something?

[charlesdm]

I'd rather pay more and have a safe taxi ride, over a dirt cheap and unsafe taxi ride...

[14]

I would pay a premium for the feeling of increased safety. If Uber had better cars and drivers it would be worth it for some people to pay the higher price as the stress of a bad driver at the wheel is horrible. The constant feeling of "will this next corner be my death?" No thank you.

[smoe]

Can you back your second paragraph up with recent numbers?

I have taken a lot of yellow taxis all across the country, but mostly in Bogotá, Medellin and Cali over the last couple of years (about 2-3 rides per week) and have yet to have a single bad experience. The handful of Uber rides I had in the time weren't better or worse, besides being in better cars.

[salawat]

>Yet, taxis in Colombia are incredibly dangerous...drive unsafely in cars that don't meet any security guidelines (a large number of passengers have died on rear-collisions given that the most common Bogota taxi has no rear-reinforcement).

This doesn't follow for me. Most Uber drivers drive their own cars, no? That means the cars are the same as are sold in the country, which given the regulated taxi companies are using supposedly less safe version of fleet vehicles sounds a lot to me like a country specific problem with lax regulations on fleet vehicle specifications.

Unless Uber is also making available U.S. market/road legal cars available to drivers in Colombia too.

I don't know squat about the regulatory framework in Colombia though. So I could be totally wrong based on the flawed assumption on how extensive this "taxi mafia's" regulatory capture purportedly is.

[repomies691]

The thing with Uber is the reputation system. It makes it much more profitable for the driver behave well. Traditional taxi system doesn't have that. In a big city, you can scam customers all day long and be pretty sure that you won't meet those people again.

[TsomArp]

No. To be an Uber driver you are required to have a better car than what is (practically) required to drive a taxi: newer, clean, etc. Plus the reputation system makes it more difficult to not comply.