Sparks flying between the Guardia Nacional and ride-share drivers at the Guadalajara airport, a precipitous fare increase in recent days and driver scarcity are converging to generate questions about whether safe, inexpensive, courteous, on-demand ERTs (Empresas de Redes de Transporte such as Uber and DiDi) will go the way of the dinosaurs.
Such doubts were reflected in an August appraisal by CNBC suggesting that platform-based taxi services may be based on an unsustainable, inherently unprofitable business model.
But passengers using these services have noticed the problems, if they notice them at all, in the form of harsh experiences, such as late arrivals at scheduled events because their Uber request generated a pop-up announcing “Drivers Unavailable,” unexpectedly long waits, a string of driver cancellations, or even a surprise text message from their driver just before he or she arrives, quoting a higher fare and adding “Only accepting cash at the moment.”
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