Uber petitions NLA for legal fix
Company says charter protects right to travel
Uber, the San Francisco-based maker of the on-demand ride-sharing app, called for reform of Thailand’s 40-year-old motor vehicle law in a letter submitted yesterday to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA).
The company’s request was supported by an online petition signed by more than 51,000 Thais.
In the letter to the NLA, Uber requested an amendment to the current Motor Vehicle Act to allow ride sharing via smartphone apps.
The law as written refers only to private vehicles, public vehicles and service vehicles, rather than ride-sharing vehicles.
The NLA will assign the communications committee to consider the request and whether to amend the law. According to an NLA source, there will be three or four meetings on the issue, taking no longer than one month.
The Department of Land Transport (DLT) previously branded ride-hailing services as unlawful, and several measures have been initiated to halt the services. Even so, many passengers still prefer to use the still-operating services.
According to Amy Kunrojpanya, Uber’s director of policy and communications for Asia-Pacific, 30% of vehicles on the road are driving to find parking, while ride-sharing services remove the need to find parking.
Traffic on the road has an enormous social and economic impact on the country, she said.
The more than 51,000 people who petitioned online at change.org are Uber passengers and people for whom the service offers a benefit.
“It’s the voice of Thai people,” Mrs Kunrojpanya said. “This is also an opportunity to show our intention that we are ready to work under the law, through regulations related to technology and business.”
She said Thais make up 100% of Uber’s team in Thailand.
Uber was introduced in Thailand in 2014. Current service areas include Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pattaya and Chon Buri.
In the letter submitted to the NLA, Uber quotes the new constitution, which states that “a person shall enjoy the liberty of travelling and the liberty of making the choice of his or her residence”.
At present, some 1.4 million users throughout the country have downloaded the Uber app, Mrs Kunrojpanya said, adding that the company cannot serve all of the demand.
Uber has more than 400,000 regular users in Thailand, with 100,000 newly registered users during the past three months.
“We are asking the national assembly to consider amending the act and unlock the benefits that ride sharing has been proven to bring”, Mrs Kunrojpanya said.
In Asean, seven countries already have or have been working on ride-sharing regulations: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Mrs Kunrojpanya said ride-sharing services can help cities become more innovative in terms of transport, helping to reduce congestion by removing cars from the roads.
In terms of safety, Uber’s research suggests that fatal night-time accidents have been declining after the launch of the ridesharing service in the US.
Uber does not regard itself as a competitor to taxis. Uber Flash, a service that delivers the closest vehicle to riders, is meant to show that Uber and taxis are complementary and can expand their customer base together.
“Our competitor is private car ownership,” Mrs Kunrojpanya said, adding that a change of mindset is needed to change people’s habits.
In the US, she said, ride-sharing services have already changed behaviour. Statistics show that more than 70% of millennials don’t want to own a car.
“In the present Motor Vehicle Act, there are not any words related to technology such as smartphone mobile applications and the innovative services that we are providing,” Mrs Kunrojpanya said. “The ‘readiness’ that was announced by the government should be in line with the amendment of regulations.”