Subscribe via E-Mail

Get all of our news delivered fresh to your inbox every morning! Just tell us your name and where to send it using the form below.

PS – We hate spam too. We don’t sell or share our list with anyone, and we never send commercial email.




luxe
Friday, January 29th, 2016  |  USD: Buy 531.29 / Sell 543.92
20 years

Uber to launch in Costa Rica at 4 p.m. Friday, officials say drivers face vehicle impound

Email this page

(Uber)

(Uber)

August 21st, 2015 (ICR News) The controversial “driver-for-hire” smartphone app, Uber will launch in Costa Rica today (Friday) at 4 p.m., the company announced online.

 

Uber said that new users can use the code “PuraVida” to receive two free rides worth up to ¢5,000 each.

 

The launch of the service comes despite the fact that Uber has not received permission from Costa Rica’s transport officials to operate here.

 

Uber announced its pricing earlier this week, saying that its service would cost ¢300 per kilometer versus the ¢610 per kilometer passengers currently pay for “red,” or licensed taxis.

 

For his part, Deputy Transport Minister, Sebastian Urbina said that Uber drivers who lack public transport permits face a fine of ¢110,000 and risk having their vehicles impounded by traffic police.

 

Still, dozens of drivers have signed up and received training as Uber drivers, according to reports.  Uber began registering drivers last week.

 

Backlash from licensed taxi drivers expected

 

Costa Rica’s largest union of licensed taxi drivers, known as the National Taxi Drivers Forum, said late last month that they were “declaring war” against Uber.

 

The union said it has established alliances with other groups in opposition to the service in Colombia, Panama, and Mexico with the singular goal of keeping the service out of Costa Rica.

 

Late last month, some one hundred taxi drivers gathered outside the Colombian embassy in San Jose to express their solidarity with taxi drivers in Colombia, who were protesting in Bogota.

 

Opposition to San Francisco-based Uber has been strong in other parts of the world, including other Latin America countries where strikes and demonstrations have ensued.

costa rica news

ATTENTION: If you are seeing this message,


Advertisement


Get our news delivered fresh to your inbox every morning.

Click here to subscribe to our email list. We hate spam too and never send commercial email.

Like us on Facebook and receive our news in your timeline

  • disgusted

    Can you give us some detail on how we contact them here? Or a web site we can read. I assume you need a smart phone so they can find out who is the closest to you…. and where your going, Right? And I think you as well have to have a credit card on file and registered if I am not mistaken?

    • http://insidecostarica.com/ Timothy Williams

      http://Uber.com

      A smartphone is required, and yes you have to have a credit card or debit card registered with them which is billed automatically for the ride. No cash changes hands between drivers and passengers.

  • LeeAnn Renshaw

    What happened to free enterprise and healthy competition in a democratic society? Why is Costa Rica so hell bent on their monopolies, and what happened to the “we welcome new and innovative ideas and businesses” propaganda we, as foreigners, hear so much about? Either you want to come out of the shadow of “Third World” status or not, but quit thinking every time something changes that you don’t like, you can just throw a temper tantrum and get your way. After the gouging we have had from some taxi drivers in Costa Rica, I say bring it on, Uber, and I have every intention of downloading the app this afternoon.

  • Ben

    I will use UBER. Lets bring in Free market to CR

  • Ben

    Well the RED TAXI Mafia is now attacking UBER drivers and the goverment of Costa Rica is ticketing Uber. UBER is great the goverment has gotten this so wrong.

Popular Content