22 Jan 2015

Apps taking business from taxi drivers

9:17 am on 22 January 2015

Auckland taxi drivers say they are just scraping by with online apps on the scene taking their business, and they want the Government to get tough on how they operate, Radio New Zealand reports.

The Government announced a review of rules for taxis and private hire car services earlier this week, to make sure it adequately covered the use of new technologies.

Mohd Khalil, who is eager to have the government review the rules, said he had worked as a taxi driver for more than a decade, and it had never been so hard.

“Before you used to do business and get about $150 to $200 a day - now the business has been cut down about 55 percent.”

Mr Khalil said many Uber drivers were student drivers, and would not be allowed to get a taxi license. He said there was no chance he would consider becoming an Uber driver, because they charged about $1.45 a kilometre - and after petrol, it would not add up for him.

Another Auckland taxi driver Amir Ahmadian works for Co-op Taxis - the biggest taxi company in New Zealand - and said they were not feeling the pinch.

“No I'm not worried about the future, because we will just adjust ourselves,” he said. “As a big company, it is easy to adjust...this should happen in every business.”