Burma or Myanmar

You meet some pretty interesting characters when you work in the taxi industry.  One of the guys I met at the Airport and Casino ranks is Ming, or maybe its Minh, I'm not sure.  He's a real cheerful character who came to Australia from Burma.  I know it is Myanmar now but I'll still call it Burma.  Minh's English is quite good; some other Asians taxi drivers, particularly the Vietnamese ones, their English is quite poor and I have difficulty understanding them when I chat to them.  I asked Ming one night why his English is so good and he said that there are three basic subjects in Burmese schooling: Burmese, Mathematics and English.

Minh is a refugee.  He fought with the guerilla army in the Burmese countryside against the military dictatorship for seven years before escaping to Thailand where he was placed by the UNHCR in a refugee camp.  Obviously his claims for asylum were accepted and he was given a choice between three countries to go and live: USA, Canada and Australia.  He choose Australia because it was closer to Burma; he had hoped that the situation in Burma would improve and he could return.  Little do people know, I certainly didn't, that Burma during the 1950s and 1960s was a prosperous country where the Buddhists lived peaceful lives. Then the military came along and fucked it all up.

Minh works hard.  He does six nights a week, 12 hour shifts and then after that he does his cleaning jobs for two hours in the early hours of the morning. His wife works as a cleaner at a university as well, so they are able to pay off a mortgage and support their daughter who goes to university in Melbourne.  Ming hopes one day to go to university and study and get a better job.  I hope he does, he deserves it.

To Uber or not to Uber

Uber is coming to Canberra.  The Government is changing the relevant laws to allow Uber to operate in competition with taxis in Canberra.  A great number of people have commented to me on this while I have been driving a taxi and most people are fearful and are declining to use Uber.  The fears range from feeling unsafe to the belief that Uber drivers could be rapists or murderers.  With Govenment regulation of Uber a great number of these fears are unfounded.  Uber drivers, just like taxi drivers, will be subject to police checks and health checks and their cars will have to be insured and pass roadworthy once a year.

Competition is good in a liberal democratic capitlist society like ours.  I liken the arrival of Uber as akin to the arrival of Aldi to break to duopoly of Coles and Woolworths.  The introduction of Aldi forced both Coles and Woolworths to lower their prices and, as I see it, the taxi industry will be forced to lower their prices too.  If not, they will die a slow death, as eventually, companies and Governments will see the advantage in going with Uber to lower costs on travel.

For at least the short to medium term, taxis will have a number of advantages over Uber in the Canberra market place.  Only taxis can pick up at the Canberra Airport and at taxi ranks.  In addition, most companies and Government bodies pay by cabcharge vouchers and Uber drivers will not be able to use these barter systems.  I estimate that Airport pick ups, Government and company jobs, and rank work would comprise 65% of my daily work. Uber drivers will be advantaged by cheaper fares and will most likely be used by customers on long fares out to the fringe suburbs on a Friday and Saturday night.

Will I become an Uber driver?  Not yet.  I don't feel there is enough work going around in Canberra to justify the switch.  But eventually, unless the taxi industry lowers their fares, then I will be forced to go over to Uber because, as I have mentioned before, the taxi industry will die a slow death.