The City of Shanghai has just announced new rules to ban Taxi Apps during its most popular times, rush hour. The Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority has stated that such apps will be disabled during rush hour, defined as between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The Taxi App allows users to bid for cabs instead of waiting outside trying to flag one down. Customers will than pay the regular taxi fare, plus an additional tip, usually five to 10 yuan (about $1.6). According to The Wall Street Journal, "Beijing’s population nearly doubled between 1994 and 2011—from about 11 million to 20 million—yet the government added just 6,000 official taxis to the total of 60,000 licensed to be on the road at the beginning of that period, according to city figures. Shanghai had about 50,000 licensed taxis on the road as of the end of 2013 for 24 million residents."
As we all know trying to flag down a cab in busy cities can be quite a pain and the App sounds like a great way to save time to reach ones destination. So why would Shanghai want to ban users from being able to utilize this App during the most crucial time?
The Taxi App was booming in popularity due to the difficulty of obtaining a cab in many of China's popular cities, especially during rush hour. But as the became more popular, complaints have risen stating that it is more difficult now to obtain a cab because many cab drivers now refuse to pick up pedestrians who are only willing to pay normal fares. This is a result of the bidding wars that take place on these apps, where customers who are willing to pay the most get the cab upon their request. Is this fare to the rest of the customers who are trying to flag a cab down and are only willing to pay the normal fare?
The Taxi App is also being shut down during rush hour to provide safety for the pedestrians of the cities. Cab drivers are now prohibited to utilize the App while driving to ensure saftey. It was noted that the App caused many Taxi drivers to operate their cell phones while driving concerned about making their next trip. The App ultimately caused a danger to the public and without using it during rush hour will help preserve the safety of the public.