CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – The St Lucia government says the American multinational transportation company, Uber, is continuing to operate on the island, despite two official warnings being sent to it to cease its illegal operations here.
“We want to be very clear that any player that comes into that space fulfills all the requirements set out by legislation,” Tourism Minister Dr Ernest Hilaire told reporters.
Tourism Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire speaking to reporters on the Uber issue (CMC Photo)
“At this point we are waiting on a follow up meeting and for us to have some clear indications as to what exactly Uber would want to do and so far as I have heard they continue to offer their services in St. Lucía and up to yesterday I sent them a second letter reminding them that they are operating illegally in St. Lucia,” Hilaire said. Watch video
Earlier this month, the Phillip J Pierre administration said it had not in “any way approved, sanctioned or encouraged Uber to operate any service in St Lucia” amid mounting public debate over the ride-hailing company’s recent launch.
Hilaire said Uber first contacted the government last December, indicating that it was interested in setting up a service on the island, and added that it described itself as a technology platform that offers transportation for people who want to move from point A to point B.
“We indicated to them then that we would be reviewing their intention and that we would have discussions with them.
“They sent in a second note indicating that there has been substantial interest in St Lucia from taxi associations and individual taxi drivers. So they were going to move ahead, and again we told them that we would want to discuss the matter with the stakeholders and with Uber itself”.
Hilaire said the government had earlier received a notice from Uber stating that “they were launching their service” in St. Lucia.
But the Tourism Minister, who said he had discussed the issue with various stakeholders in the transportation sector, noted that, for Uber to operate here, it must meet certain requirements.
“I indicated to them that our position, as expressed in a letter which I sent to Uber, was that they were not fulfilling our regulatory requirements for them to operate in St. Lucía, and that we pointed out to them the regulatory requirements were.
“One, they needed to, in our view, obtain a trade licence before they can operate in St. Lucia. Two: they need to register with the Inland Revenue Department to pay taxes owed to the government for operating a business in St. Lucia, and thirdly, they are required to be certified under the Tourism Development Act.
Hilaire said that these requirements were outlined to the stakeholders as the “government’s position and that we are willing to talk with Uber about their interest in St. Lucía.
“We met with Uber and expressed those sentiments, and we indicated to them that, in our view, they were operating illegally in St. Lucía. They had not met the requirements to operate in St. Lucía, and we indicated to them that we believe that they needed to reset and that they could not continue to operate as they are operating”.
He said Uber has promised to have a follow-up meeting to “discuss our concerns in greater detail.
“We asked them to suspend their operations in St. Lucia until they had cleared the way forward. We are awaiting a date from them for our follow-up meeting and for us to decide how we move forward,” Hilaire said.
Download video – Dr Ernest Hilaire, Tourism Minister
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