The local taxi company is not worried about Uber arriving in Turku.
HS said Wednesdaythat Uber will expand its operations to Turku.
Managing Director of Southwest Finland Taxidata Oy Kari Hietarinta not worried about it. Competition has intensified in the past.
“The competition situation for taxis has changed significantly since the change in the taxi law and with the Kela competition,” he says.
Hietarinta says that the entry of a new player into the market will cause “quite a lot of uproar and buzz”. Uber does not yet appear to be a threat.
“Uber didn’t have a single car driving at least in the morning. There seemed to be a couple of cars last night, ”Hietarinta told HS on Thursday.
Taxidata is the largest brokerage firm in the Turku area. They have 466 cars in service.
“If you think Uber has had maybe two cars in traffic on Wednesday, then I’m not terribly worried about that yet,” Hietarinta says.
Uber has indeed tried to attract Taxidata drivers to its lists.
“They have approached our motorists too, so why not join their service. I don’t think any of our motorists are joining. ”
Hietarinta says the reason is that at these fuel prices, taxi drivers choose the most profitable rides. Uber’s price level is very low.
He says Taxidata is responsible for much more than the rides of ordinary consumers, such as school transport, unlike Uber.
He suspects the Uber drivers are drivers of the Russian-owned Yango service left without a dealership.
Hietarinta does not want to guess how Uber’s entry into Turku will affect the competitive situation.
“When you don’t know how many cars they will have and how consumers will receive them, it’s too early to analyze market change.”
Hietarinta says Uber is as much a brokerage company as Taxidata.
“Uber’s first attempt in Finland was found illegal five years ago. Now they operate under the same taxi laws and regulations as we do. They must have, for example, a taxi license and a taxi driver’s license. They are comparable to a similar operator under the law.”
The arrival of Uber may mean cheaper taxi rides for Turku residents.
“Possibly, but you have to remember that the price of a ride is not the only criterion in services. Reliability and safety are important values. For us, price is not the determining factor. ”
Hietarinta emphasizes the importance of local knowledge and proficiency in the Finnish language.
“Proficiency in the Finnish language is a significant factor when transporting even the elderly.”
In In 2018, the taxi industry became vacant.
“It could be said that there has been quite a bit of control by the authorities since then. Are all things, taxi licenses and taxi driver licenses, okay. ”
Hietarinta believes Uber has taken care of things.
“I hope they are okay. They are stuff that should be monitored. It is essential for taxi operations that the price of the car, for example, is clearly displayed. ”
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