Editor, RE: “Taxes: Does sharing economy point to changing dynamics?” (The New Times, December 18). There are many threads to this well researched story. Technology can certainly improve the availability, convenience and trust of personal transportation. Africa is becoming the centerpiece of a growing “post-Uber” development centre. But innovation alone cannot create a stable, safe and fair model for taxi or ride sharing services. Increasingly the finger is being pointed at regulators in cities, countries and the E.U. to develop standards that capture the benefits of technology and provide living wages for drivers, guaranteeing trustworthy and safe service providers and offering flexible payment systems. Without the support of regulatory frameworks, good innovation gets overrun by financial bullies, drivers get exploited and passengers are put at risk. The complaints of legacy service providers are valid but service standards and regulations need to be overhauled. The biggest question is: If all the tech advances are applied and the rules for safety are enforced, what will happen to the cost of the services? Many have pointed out that the tech advances in convenience don’t really create savings. Per mile costs remain the same and although tech improves the efficiency per driver, the savings do not pay for the added layers of costs from creating and applying these new tech models. Nor does scaling the new services across cities and countries create any further economic advantages. It is of great concern that the money being lost throughout the world as these advanced transportation business models are put to use mean a dead-end street for the providers. Philip Macafee
