{"id":41753,"date":"2023-10-20T15:16:15","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/uber-vs-regulators-the-heavyweight-bout-of-2015-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:16:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:16:15","slug":"uber-vs-regulators-the-heavyweight-bout-of-2015-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/uber-vs-regulators-the-heavyweight-bout-of-2015-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Uber vs regulators: the heavyweight bout of 2015 – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ride sharing, both the legal and \u201cillegal\u201d type is growing rapidly around the world, with new Australian entrant RideBoom the latest to take on market leader Uber.<\/p>\n
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Uber, which began in San Francisco in 2009, now operates in more than 50 countries with 300,000+ driver-partners (as they are known in \u201cuberspeak\u201d) in the US alone. In Australia it\u2019s moving towards 20,000 driver-partners.<\/p>\n
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The difference between Uber and many of its competitors though, is that most of Uber\u2019s direct competitors operate within the legal confines of the countries they\u2019re in. Uber on the other hand, is paying for its drivers to ignore local laws.<\/p>\n
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Uber is in a global fight to win a regulatory environment favourable to its business model. This fight largely relies on ambiguity on how Uber should be defined as a company. Uber steadfastly denies any suggestion it is a service provider, insisting instead that it\u2019s a \u201ctechnology company\u201d \u2026 \u201cseamlessly connecting riders to drivers\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Uber maintains that its driver-partners are not employees. This has been, and continues to be, challenged in the courts and on the streets.<\/p>\n
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Uber also wants to manipulate regulation that extends well beyond labour law, in order to boost its competitive advantage. The impact is being felt by non-Uber taxi drivers, prompting street protests everywhere from Paris to Mumbai; London to Mexico city.<\/p>\n
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