A reduction would bring taxi fares closer to those offered by Uber. Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solís has said Uber is operating illegally in the country.
The Solís administration has declared Uber’s service illegal and threatened to fine chauffeurs caught driving passengers, but it has so far ignored Airbnb, a service that allows private citizens to rent out their homes to guests.
Despite the government’s opposition to the ride-hailing service, it has yet to decide on an enforcement strategy that would keep Uber vehicles off the road in Costa Rica.
I do not think that the majority of Costa Ricans are desperate enough to offer their country for an app. Unfortunately, some of the attitudes and events of the recent past demonstrate the recklessness that some politicians and citizens are capable of.
Presidency Minister Sergio Alfaro told reporters during a press conference Tuesday that blocking Uber is not a viable solution to the controversy. “This administration is not against technological advancement,” Alfaro told reporters.
“Members of the union, who are traffic officers, have the right to have their own opinion about the legality or not of Uber but they do not have the right to not comply with their duties and disobey orders,” Traffic Police Commissioner Mario Calerdón said.
SAN FRANCISCO, California – Uber has spent more on lobbyists in the U.S. state of California than Facebook and Apple combined to fend off regulations aimed at the heart of its worldwide business model.
Uber went live in Costa Rica Friday afternoon but within hours the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) announced that it had fined two of the ride-hailing service's drivers, according to a Facebook post from the ministry. As MOPT denounced Uber, it released a statement repudiating any violence against the company's drivers after photos of a car with smashed windows surfaced on social media in the pre-dawn hours Saturday, reportedly showing a vehicle that was damaged because it was working with Uber.
The service will be offered along the central corridor of the San José Greater Metropolitan Area, from Lindora to San José to Curridabat, and Heredia staring Friday afternoon, the company announced.
