Traffic can drive people crazy. The residents of Istanbul know this all too well. Istanbul is touted to have the most traffic in the world. An annual study conducted by the GPS company Tomtom analyses more than 200 cities in the world. The results showed that Istanbul has a 58% level of congestion, and it is worse at night.
In response to this, controversial taxi app company Uber introduced a new service: the UberBOAT.
In a partnership with the shipping company Navette, Uber launched the service on June 25th. UberBOAT is not the first of this kind, and they must compete with other services to take passengers across the Bosphorus, ferrying them between Istanbul’s European and Asian sides.
Using the app, the boat captain contacts the customer to agree the boarding and destination points. The boats can carry 6-8 people, and costs between 18 and 136 euros. This is dramatically more expensive than the existing local services. The public boats pass through 20 routes, and cost a paltry $0.81, or even less. But if one is looking for comfort and convenience, UberBOAT cannot be competed with.
Uber trialed a similar service in Boston, USA. Last summer, Uber provided boats to their customers to use in the city. The service, however, was discontinued at the end of the season. Uber has been riddled with controversy since its inception. Uber is a app-based alternative to the traditional taxi, which operates like a car-sharing scheme, and occupies a financial and ethical grey area. Trade unions and taxi drivers have been up in arms, with violent protests taking root in Paris, and the company facing bans, lawsuits, and accusations of driver exploitation around the world. Despite these accusations, Uber is at least environmentally possible. By acting as a car-sharing service, Uber actually reduces the number of cars on the street, going some way to improving the environment.
Uber has been expanding into the emerging markets, and its ban was recently lifted in India. In Mexico, the app has also been allowed. However, in both countries the company is subject to restrictions. Indian authorities required Uber to register with a regulatory company, different to conventional taxis. In Mexico, each new Uber car must pay for a license to operate from local government, which must be renewed each year.
If you like this article you may be interested in “Social Media Watch: International Pride Parade Recaps 2015”.
