A long period of struggle may now have come to an end. Both tourists and Uber drivers will be better off. A deal has been struck in Punta Cana as the Uber Caribe group has agreed to accept taxi drivers who belong to the Dominican Confederation of Tourist Taxis (Codotatur) as member drivers under a special program known as Uber Select. The agreement specifies that the confederation drivers can join the Uber Select app as soon as their vehicles have their documents certified and fulfill the requirements of the Uber App. The agreement establishes that Uber Select will be the only drivers able to pick up passengers at hotels in the Bavaro-Punta Cana area. Uber X will continue to function as normal.
Tourism Minister David Collado, the head of the National Institute for Transit and Transport (Intrant) Rafael Arias, and the president of Codotatur, Santiago Zamora, were joined by the head of the Uber Caribbean, Central America and Andes group, Silvia Alvarado for the signing.
For the drivers, the Uber Select app is a portal to over two dozen security applications, including 911, audio recording, PIN verification and more. The drivers will now be covered by Mapfre insurance.
Uber has been operating in the country since 2017, when it first launched operations in the country’s capital of Santo Domingo. Yet, in Punta Cana, taxi operators objected its operation because Uber taxis were so much more competitive than their fares.
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Ministry of Tourism
Presidency
Listin Diario
12 April 2022