Uber is undoubtably the most popular private car service in the United States, with service is every major city, and many small towns across the country. Uber has been expanding international due to the demand and opportunities. The success which began in the States appeared to have similar results across Europe. The United Kingdom and many other countries adapted quite well and are using Uber regularly. The next step for Uber was to expand in Asian countries, unfortunately, this seems to be a bigger challenge then expected. The problem with expanding in India is the taxi service industry is already established and competition is stiff.
Uber is going up against Asian startups such as GrabTaxi and EasyTaxi have been around for years and have dominated the app market for taxi service. GrabTaxi had initially received $250 million US dollars in venture capital funding to help grow the company with “An ambitious research and development center and a driver recruitment program.” It is important that safety is a top priority in this region due to the number of crimes with taxi drivers, making sure drivers are safe and pass standards is of utmost importance for these services.
Another issue Uber is that countries as strict as South Korea are cracking down on private taxi services due to the security reasons. The increasing reports of driver misconduct due to unreliable background checks is leading to bans in certain countries. South Korea is going as far to detain employees of Uber South Korea for just being involved with the organization.
In China, all Uber offices and headquarters have been raided by Chinese police for operating in illegal business, and while they claim to be doing nothing wrong, the Chinese government is still continuing on cracking down on Uber. These crackdowns are leading to riots against Uber drivers by local taxi services. They are looking for the government to change the law to completely ban private taxi service. They are taking away their passengers while not providing a safe atmosphere.
Uber in India has been a bit dodgy since the rape allegation of the repeat sex offender in New Delhi. Although, Uber is able to operate in India again, all drivers must go through regulations which any normal taxi driver will have to go through to obtain a license. With so many obstacles to overcome, Uber is facing an uphill battle in their fight to become a major player in the Asian taxi service industry.