A lost ride

The concept is a winner. The transportation network company Uber could not have revolutionized the transport in non-commercial vehicles better. But regardless of having paid the bill for a road revolution ahead of time – to be the first one in order to gain, for it caught societies by surprise and mainly governments unprepared and without the necessary legislation to avoid the impact of such a move – Uber lost by having poorly prepared people at its helm. ‘Losing’ here clearly has a different meaning, since the company is valued at countless billions of U.S. dollars. ‘Losing’ means not winning even more and becoming more accepted worldwide.
Many of the heads in various parts of the world were unprepared for the places where they held office.
It is true that a number of governments, including Macau, defended the corporate interests of the traditional taxi associations, instead of being pro-active and swiftly regulating the sector, since almost no one will deny that the existence of such companies are for the greater good.
Also, in Macau, Uber could have taken advantage of the fact that most passengers prefer the company and the fact that it provided other benefits to the city than just the transportation of its people and tourists. In doing so, it would have galvanized more support, and put more pressure on the decision makers.
But as so often happens, those who come to Macau to manage corporations, by not knowing the specifics of this peculiar town, do not realize that this is not Hong Kong, let alone New York, Amsterdam, Paris or even Shanghai. The result is obvious: ignorance and arrogance are clearly not bliss.
Uber could have taken on a role of partnering with government and social institutions, promoting road campaigns, for example. Something that the government does little of and badly.
It preferred instead, confrontation and paying millions in fines. It preferred to sit on the chair of a financial power that, without other ideas and initiatives, could only result in the ‘temporary’ suspension – says the company – of its services in the city.
It’s too bad. It was a good service. But who knows, maybe next time the drivers of that business here will be better prepared to give more to the city than just a ride.