St Andrews student lift sharing group accused of operating at a profit
http://www.thesaint-online.com/2018/09/ ... eculation/
Image: The Saint
Samuel Yuen saw intense speculation and controversy from other taxi drivers after he tried to charge a student three times the cost of a trip to Edinburgh airport because it was outside of his preferred time slot.
The administrator of a taxi and lift sharing Facebook group has come under speculation after trying to charge a student three times the cost of a trip to Edinburgh airport because it was outside of his preferred time slot.
Samuel Yuen, a student at the University of St Andrews, runs the St Andrews Taxi and Lift Sharing group.
On the page he advertises times when he will do car shares to and from Edinburgh airport and provides a forum for others who offer the same service.
In late July, a student of the University, who wishes to remain anonymous, tried to acquire a ride out of the hours advertised by Mr Yuen.
Legally, a car share can only charge for the petrol used on the journey and thus make no profit. However, the student was asked to pay £30 when the ride had previously been advertised as £10.
The student eventually acquired a ride from an official taxi driver at £45 out of safety concerns.
Frank Bissett, the operator owner of Univercity Taxis, has expressed concerns about this practice.
He emailed fellow taxi drivers with screenshots of the conversations between the student and Mr Yuen and the student and the taxi driver whose offer they eventually took.
Mr Bissett said, “He [Mr Yuen] is offering options at a greatly increased price which therefore would be classed as hire or reward and not lift share, which I believe would invalidate the insurance on the vehicle he is using.”
He added, “We all know that any inexperienced driver on certain roads in Fife area are fraught with risk and no one would like anything to happen to the passengers or driver, but the risk exists and there would be no insurance cover if a claim was made.”
Mr Yuen caused controversy over the summer when he became admin of the St Andrews Taxi and Lift Sharing group as he expanded it to promote both lift sharing and taxi sharing.
Some were displeased with his management of the group and the lack of distinction made between the two practices, while others felt that the behaviour of some taxi drivers on the group amounted to harassment.
When asked for comment, Mr Yuen said, “This anonymous [student] has made the same case towards two authorities within the past two weeks and they have been resolved fully. No further action is taken by either of them after I fully explained my side of the story.”
Furthermore, he said, “I offered [the option] to pay £30 for three lifts, in other words the next two people who would ride with me would do so for free.”
When pressed on why this person had to pay for two other people, Mr Yuen did not respond.
