'Rideshare needs to be recognised as public transport'

An Uber Driver, who would like to be known as Julie, has started a petition to address the issue that Rideshare drivers and riders are not receiving the same respect and treatment as other public transport providers who are governed by New Zealand road laws, such as buses and taxis.

Giving details about the petition, Julie, who has been a driver with Uber since 2018, says, “Rideshare drivers including myself are reminded through constant $150 fines by Auckland Transport that we cannot utilise bus stops or taxi stands to pick or drop off passengers, which jeopardises both customers safety as well as the driver. This predicament is unavoidable in places such as Queen Street, Dominion Road in Mt Eden or Khyber Pass in Newmarket, to name a few.”

She adds, “It is an inconvenience and disregards the needs of customers who are elderly, may have mobility and disability issues, and will most probably need assistance. Through this petition, I want to highlight that we need to be respected on New Zealand roads as we are tax-paying NZ citizens and residents who contribute to on-road costs. To ensure the safety of our passengers and ride-sharing drivers, we need access to allocated stop stands.”

According to Julie, she has an online petition (https://instagram.com/share_theroadnz?utm_medium=copy_link) and a manual petition, which has more than 1000 signatures and still counting. “My petition is still growing in numbers; I believe the support will help wake up the community awareness for the lawmakers to do something about the road restrictions for Uber. I have tried to get in touch with Uber support regarding this issue which they have acknowledged several times in the past. Unfortunately, till now, they have not been able to do much about it and that’s why I came up with this petition, We are innocent drivers caught up in this chaos and are penalised with these fines despite providing 24x7 essential public transport,” says Julie

One of the signatories, Parminder, says, “I am an uber driver and have been fined several times for using bus lane where I had no other option to stop for a safe pickup and drop off.”

Another supporter of the petition, Sahil, says, “Use of bus lanes should beallowed to Rideshare driver for at least pick up n drop off the client.”

“Uber deserve recognition as public transport services,” wrote another co-signer Elle.

When contacted regarding this petition, a spokesperson from Uber said, “It is important to have transport infrastructure that meets the needs of Aucklanders, including having a safe pick up and drop off zones, to help people get from A to B.

“We encourage a balanced approach to the management and enforcement of how busy areas of the city are controlled to ensure all those using Auckland roads can move safely.”

When Indian Weekender approached Transport Minister Michael Wood for his comments, he said, “The areas concerned are local roads, so are ultimately the responsibility of Auckland Transport and Auckland Council. I encourage them to ensure that there is a safe space for all road users. Still, I do not support the use of bus stops for taxis or rideshare operations as this would significantly undermine the operation of our public transport system.”

Reacting to Mr Wood’s statement, Julie says, “This is absurd and very ridiculous as to how on earth do they think we can accommodate to the public use if we cannot stop in these areas that people are in as at times these are the only safe places to stop.

“They need to address a serious issue, and they need to put it into the law. Rideshare needs to be in law and respected as public transporters same as the buses and taxis among others as we pay our P endorsement licenses, every day on-road costs and taxes plus we are in high demand of the public who have no other choice or preferences but to catch Uber or Rideshare.

“This is why more and more people signing my manual petition as they agree when they ride in my Uber car etc.. people are angry and upset at times when there are no safe stops, so they wait in these areas that we are at high risk of getting unfair fines,” signs off Julie

Auckland Transport declined to comment on the issue.