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News > Latin America

Uber’s Illegal Operations Drain Our Country, Help US: Trinidad

  • Labor union leaders protest Uber.

    Labor union leaders protest Uber. | Photo: Reuters

Published 21 April 2017
Opinion

Part of the fees charged to Trinidad customers go back to the company in the U.S., according to the country's Ministry of Works and Transport.

Trinidad’s Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan revealed on Wednesday that multinational transportation company Uber is operating “illegally” in his country, Trinidad Express reports.

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Under the Caribbean island’s Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act, private vehicles are prohibited from operating as taxis, according to the Ministry of Works and Transport. Trinidad also requires all taxi drivers to register for licenses issued by the country’s Licensing Authority.

Uber, according to Sinanan, has failed to comply with both policies. The company has circumvented these regulations by claiming itself to be an online service provider instead of a taxi cab company.

“There is no Uber registered in Trinidad that you can go to and get information from,” Sinanan told Trinidad Express.

“Our law enforcement agency has to find out what is going on.”

Uber’s purportedly illegal operations in Trinidad drain the country’s foreign exchange, given that part of the fees charged to customers go back to the company in the U.S., Sinanan added. 

Since its 2009 founding, the transportation company has been accused of sidestepping taxi regulations in several countries around the world based on its “online service provider” claim. The company has also been accused of intentionally dropping their rates just below those of their rivals in order to drive out competition. 

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Critics of Uber’s questionable legal and economic practices have pushed local and national governments around the world to heavily regulate the company’s growth. Supporters of Uber, however, claim the company should be allowed to operate free of state control.

Uber operates in more than 65 cities in Latin America, Bloomberg reports. The company plans to double that figure by the end of this year.

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