Paul Fogget further adds that the driver and passengers share the ride and costs by connecting over the Internet. The application allows also the payment of transport services online with a debit or credit card. In this sense, "sharing" becomes more of a marketing gimmick: the driver and owner of the car is actually a provider of a service and the passenger is a customer. The mobile application allows customers to provide feedback on the quality of service; know its price in advance and can share the planned route with friends for security reasons.
There is a detail, however: in Bulgaria taxis are regulated by the Automobile Administration Agency and the municipal authorities. The agency has reported that Uber is not registered. Spokesperson of the company Paul Fogget says that Uber requires drivers to have all necessary documents by law, but the company would not register as a transport company as its business is software.
This way Uber is stripped of the responsibility to register as a transport company and if Uber drivers were caught by the police they could be fined while the vehicle will be stopped for a period of 6 months. The illegal transport service does not provide protection to passengers in case of an accident. However, the company makes profits from the service. It is also not clear how the National Revenue Agency would be able to keep track of the revenues of Uber. Thus Uber resembles well-known models of the gray economy in the country, but has a better design.
The Uber app was launched in the US about 5-6 years ago and these days its services are available in many parts of the world. In some countries like India, the company has registered its activities, while in others it has not done so.
In most European countries Uber has not been registered as a carrier and pays only part of the taxes, which allows it to offer lower prices. To this date, the Uber services have been banned in some EU countries like France and Austria. In India and the United States a few cases of sexual abuse by drivers against clients have made the headlines of the news.
The Uber business model works successfully where taxi fares are high and there is also a great demand for services. Currently in Bulgaria the fares of Uber and those of the regular taxis do not differ much, while stagnation is felt on the market.
English: Alexander Markov
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