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UBER Holds The International Record for Shutting Down In Trinidad and Tobago

Quick update.  

In a recent post, we focused on UBER as the big secret in T&T; now a major development you must know about.

On Wednesday 30^th May 2018, UBER executives announced to the media that T&T UBER service was “paused” effective immediately.  Now, did you ever hear about a company “pausing” service?  A business is not like a TV pausing is not an option.

UBER is gone from T&T.

Did they have good reason?  Maybe.  Was the high crime rate the reason?  Nope. Business is business and crime is crime, you don’t pause business because of crime, you implement solutions. 

Unfortunately, the only national exposure Uber was able to generate in T&T was the worst any company could hope to get.  

It could have been the crime but when you look at the UBER prices online, a lack of business could have been another reason they left T&T.

Someone interviewed a foreigner about UBER in Trinidad and here is what he had to say on a youtube video...

The reality is when you compared the prices to a regular “PH”; UBER would attract only a very small proportion of the population.  But you know what is sad…

We do need something.

If not UBER, Trinidad and Tobago needs an innovative or even traditional public transportation solution in T&T.

So here is whats new:

RideConnect

The business model come with an interesting feature that allows drivers and passengers to negotiate the fare.

Driver and passengers can tell each other what they are going to pay or charge for the ride on what they call the RideBoard. This way no one is forced to take a fare they do not want. .

Find out more at RideConnect

Another alternative is an app that goes by the name of

Drop;

Drop allows the drivers to find you in minutes.  Wherever you are in Trinidad and Tobago you can use Drop.

You can quickly get you where you want to go.

 It’s fantastic to get a ride on demand or in advance with just a tap on your phone, track your drivers and keep them in touch then pay seamlessly with cards!  Find more on Here



T&T Needs a Public Transportation System - Not This

Today my pet peeve is that the government has contracted $221 million in one highway interchange. Building the Curepe Interchange does not address the larger more serious priority of an efficient public transportation. 

It begs the question; why build an interchange to satisfy a few drivers that has nothing to do with the vast majority of the population?

This particular interchange project is the brainchild of the previous UNC administration.  Even members of the UNC labeled this as allegedly corrupt.  

There is not enough information to cast aspersions however even the blind in T&T will ask that question.  Why, why there and not somewhere else?  Read about it here. 

What happened to the promise of a lightening rail service from Port of Spain to Sangre Grande?   

Yes, it will cost much more, but that is what got the votes, now it is all about priorities.

We don’t have the money for that.

The answers are blowing in the wind.

Good-bye UBER, you should not have tried in the first place.  You ware not welcomed and even though you persisted like a used car salesperson, at some point ROI rules.  It’s not about crime in T&T, crime in Chicago is a lot higher and you are still there.

You left a number of people in debt because according to the article, they purchased vehicles so that they could work with you.  They are independent thinking entrepreneurs who will work it out. Worst case they can pull bull in any route they want in T&T that is what we have known for almost 40 years.

In the meanwhile, T&T drivers are being hit right, left and center with huge fines.  However, that is a story for another post.  This one is really to say goodbye to UBER.

We need a service, anything that can safely transport the public in Trinidad and Tobago but it is not something that can be fixed by an international organization. 

One of the priorities for most governments globally is to provide safe reliable and inexpensive transportation to the masses, especially with urban centers. 

Countries are judged by the reliability of their transportation system, please do not judge us, we are a developing country, we need to build interchanges before we consider a reliable transportation system for the rest of the country.

That is how it is in Trinidad & Tobago in 2018.

We developing.