When the network goes down or the app backend has technical problems, the taxi fare meter will still work. It makes sure no-one gets ripped off (the passenger and the driver) and that taxes are paid correctly.
It's not fool-proof of course but I trust my local taxi's meter more than I trust Uber. This varies a lot by country and city, but I'm pretty sure that taxi meters are very reliable in Denmark.
This makes no sense. I open up Uber and tell my destination, and Uber tells me 87₹. I press confirm and that's it. If the network goes down it's still 87₹.
In contrast, a traditional taxi meter allows the cabbie to take a circuitous route with unsuspecting passengers. Before Uber I needed to constantly be on guard against autowales doing this to me (due to my ethnicity I'm prime ripoff target).
> I open up Uber and tell my destination, and Uber tells me 87₹.
If the network is down, your Uber isn't going to open. Yet you can hail a cab and pay with cash (or credit/debit).
Your taxi experiences are probably very different from mine, but getting scammed by a taxi driver is very unlikely where I'm from. And in my experience everything runs like clockwork in Denmark, I'd expect the situation to be very similar there.
Taxi services across the world are very different, so your experiences might be as valid as mine. But where I'm from, Uber doesn't provide anything that a normal taxi service wouldn't.
The network going down should not affect the fare. It's not like the city map changes by the minute, and the last known price per mile is a good approximation.
Smart phones should be fine for tracking fares, even if the network goes down (assuming they were well-programmed). Especially if the customer can run his own "meter app" on his own device to verify the fare.
My objection to Uber: I prefer drivers who have a track record of not being drunk and not on drugs. I don't need the government to regulate that, but I would be willing to pay a premium for drivers who are willing to undergo some kind of occasional testing program for drugs/alcohol.
An Uber driver who gets a single passenger complaint of not having been sober is reviewed. If there are police records such as a DUI ticket to confirm the complaint, he's excluded. This is better than occasional testing.
Nope - I'm not an expert. The point is that I can come up with these reasons, all of which are sensible in my opinion. I'm guessing if you want the actual reason, you'd have to speak to the officials in Denmark.
The other comment, however, gives an actual reason to require them.
