what a question about GPS, lol.
i never saw a smartphone without a GPS App already loaded. they work worldwide and are nice precise.
zero need for installing Navigation Kitts/Equipments in cars since years. you have a smartphone with a real smartplan(Data), then you have your own private navigation system already included, worldwide.
a little example, my Crews have smartplans for their smartphones, as very most people i know have here in DR. a captain can adjust his GPS App easy, so i see on my smartphone where each boat moves at any moment, and i can store on my smartphone the route they took, follow up where they speeded and where they fished. for private use in a car, no navigation equipment nor any satelite tracking equipments are necessary, simple smartphones do the job. and you don't neew any overprized luxury models. my crews use samsungs S4's and S5's, myself i use a chinese M4Tel which comes FREE with my Claro Smartplan/Dataplan. i damage several phones per year on and in the water, so i stopped a long time ago to use expensive models, not worth the bucks spent. the actual alternative for myself, as the M4 is already showing some "wounds", is the Samsung S3. great reliable phone and darn cheap. brand new in the store for under 10K Pesos.
back to the Uber system.
sure it is made for Mayor Cities where many passengers are available within a dozen kilometers. the kind of customer who would use such sertvice over a normal taxi/public transportation, that person in DR already has a Smartplan and that person already has a bank account with debit/credit card, no problem to connect such to a Uber App.
BUT, todays i do not see the city ready for such service. Uber needs to find a nuber of existing cabbies with a up to date vehicle, to offer their services. for a few dollars per ride, they will not convince any to leave his Union, with his life at stake due such(leaving Union), to do in the most modern taxi of the city the cheapest rides of the City.
taxi drivers have smartphones and bank accounts, BUT the buck per mile paid by Uber, darn sure a cabby driver does not want to be paid those peanuts on a bank account, as he would get the full taxes taken from his peanuts profit right away, no more rides under the hand.
anyways, Uber will not manage to create a new kinda Union of drivers, such will never happen, not in this century, for any kind of transport service to work out, they obligatory have to work with drivers/car owners who are members of the unions. so on every ride the union gets their usual 10% share. in addition they have to pay their fees for their Routes. with all that the rates/fares are set by the market (Unions) already. there is no space left for Uber to make a buck per mile.
in Santo Domingo i ride by cabby cross city for 300.- pesos. the cars used are no luxury but completely fine for the rides. would i be willing to pay $20.- bucks for the same ride just to sit 20-25minutes in a more luxury Taxi? sure not, no need for that.
somebody mentioned $50.- rides/services to be targeted. well, i cant imagine a route in Santo Domingo which would cost so much, Taxis are way cheaper, cost a fraction of $50.-.
the more expensive rides are the one from the Airports and in general within the Punta Cana Area, the touristy rides by cabby. but the same, they are not available to work with without Union Drivers/vehicles, and arriving tourists usually have No Data Plan working here at hand to use such service by Uber.
I dont see it work here.
Mike
