Taxi drivers threaten to join Uber to avoid taxes

Some Taxi Drivers unions in Accra are calling for an end to non-taxi services like Uber and Uru and other ride-hailing apps that allow users (passengers) to book rides with drivers in non-commercial vehicles.

The drivers accused the Motor Transport and Traffic Division (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service for not adequately enforcing laws aimed at assuring fair competition between private and taxi operators.

They are holding Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), DVLA, and Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) for allowing Uber; an App-based taxi booking service to eat away their market without complying with tax laws.

True Drivers Union, one of the syndicates that spoke to mynewsgh.com says its revenue has dropped due to the rise in ride-hailing apps. Others have estimated their losses between 20 and 30 percent.

Yaw Barima, the spokesperson of the association said they are not against Uber’s low-cost which connects passengers with non-professional drivers, rather, they against Uber’s avoidance of tax and noncompliance of all commercial driver’s guidelines and laws. He said, they (True Driver’s Union) focus is to see Uber operators behaves like commercial derivers because that is what they are.

“Every commercial car is identified by its yellow number plate, and yellow or orange colored bumpers with a cab light in the case of taxis’, while private or rental cars could only be reserved in advance, taxis could be hailed from the street. But the rise of apps like Uber, has dramatically shifted that balance, putting taxis and private drivers in more direct competition with one another.”

The objective of our protest is simple; that Uber cars are identified with commercial number plate; that Uber cars pay commercial roadworthy charges and that Uber cars are embossed with their respective District Assembly Identification, Yaw Barima demanded

For instance, Uber cars are allowed to go to restricted areas for commercial purpose but those of us complying with the laws are prevented because we are commercial drivers; Uber cars are allowed to park and stop where we (Taxi Operators) are forbidden to, he fumed.

He warned that if the situation is not managed, they are all going to convert their cars into private cars and join Uber to avoid paying taxes.

Uber has quickly expanded across parts of Africa, where it is seen by those signing up as drivers or “partners” in the Uber lingo — as a rare job opportunity on a continent with stubbornly high levels of unemployment.

But the service has stirred debate over how low fares should go, and the company has faced a series of strikes from South Africa to Lagos.