{"id":44430,"date":"2023-10-20T15:35:54","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/factcheck-is-ridesharing-no-safer-than-hitchhiking-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:35:54","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:35:54","slug":"factcheck-is-ridesharing-no-safer-than-hitchhiking-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/factcheck-is-ridesharing-no-safer-than-hitchhiking-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"FactCheck: is ridesharing no safer than hitchhiking? – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ridesharing. It\u2019s no safer than hitchhiking. \u2013 full page advertisement by the NSW Taxi Council.<\/em><\/p>\n
Allowing illegal taxi services to operate unregulated puts the public at significant risk. \u2013 NSW Taxi Council CEO Roy Wakelin-King, interview, The Daily Telegraph, August 10, 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n
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In Australia, as in other countries, Uber and ridesharing apps like it are now posing a threat to the market dominance of traditional options such as taxis.<\/p>\n
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The threat to livelihood is taken so seriously that taxi drivers recently rioted in France with the aim of stopping Uber providers and users and eroding their trade. But traditional commercial transport groups have launched other, more subtle, attacks aimed at making people think twice before using these types of apps.<\/p>\n
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One such tactic is to claim ridesharing carries an increased risk of crime when compared to traditional transport methods. In other words: scare tactics.<\/p>\n
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The NSW Taxi Council\u2019s evidence<\/h2>\n
When asked for data to support the claim that ridesharing is no safer than hitchhiking, a NSW Taxi Council spokesman said:<\/p>\n
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Illegal ridesharing is provided by private drivers in private vehicles. The services are provided outside of the law and therefore none of the safety systems that are mandated for taxis exist in illegal ridesharing vehicles and ridesharing drivers.<\/p>\n
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Specifically, illegal ridesharing vehicles do not have:<\/p>\n
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Security cameras as mandated by the NSW Government<\/li>\n
Alarm systems as required by the NSW Government<\/li>\n
Vehicle tracking devices that are fixed to the vehicle<\/li>\n
Distinctive livery and internationally recognised signage to identify the vehicle<\/li>\n
Compulsory independent vehicle checks on a regular basis at a Government authorised inspection station<\/li>\n
Roadside compliance operations which in the last 12 months have checked over 2000 vehicles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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In addition to the above, illegal ridesharing drivers are not required by law to:<\/p>\n
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Undergo criminal background checks<\/li>\n
Driver history checks<\/li>\n
Medical checks to a national standard<\/li>\n
Immigration checks<\/li>\n
National based training and competency standards<\/li>\n
Independent knowledge and English language testing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
For taxis, all of these checks occur upon application and they are ongoing. Taxi drivers who fails to continuously meet these obligations can lose their authority to drive. It is clear that illegal ridesharing, in the absence of the government requirements above, is no safer than hitchhiking. There have been numerous examples both overseas and now emerging in Australia where passengers of illegal taxi services like ridesharing are being exposed to significant risk.<\/p>\n
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The spokesman referred The Conversation to several recent examples of risk to passengers.<\/p>\n
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In both the UK and the US, criminals convicted of sexual and violent crimes have successfully passed Uber background checks. All criminal background checks of Uber drivers are conducted via the Australian Federal Police\u2019s Crimtrac database, while driving history checks are conducted by the relevant transport authority in each state.<\/p>\n
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A factsheet provided to The Conversation by Uber says:<\/p>\n
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When a rider books a ride through the app they are provided with the name, photograph and vehicle plate number of the driver-partner and can track their route on a map. A rider can also share the details of their trip with others through the Share My ETA feature.<\/p>\n
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Uber also riders and drivers to rate each other out of five stars after each trip and to submit written feedback.<\/p>\n
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The Routine Activity Theory or \u201ccrime triangle\u201d theory provides a relatively simple explanation as to why most crimes occur. The theory argues that a crime is more likely to occur when there is a lack of capable guardianship.<\/p>\n