Uber has not had an easy time in various global locations, incurring problems ranging from being shut down due to operation without a license to the more recent revelation that plenty of Uber drivers with criminal records had passed the company’s background checks. While Uber seems to be no stranger to government resistance or bad press, in Hong Kong and mainland China Uber could be making it extra difficult for themselves to continue operating in the region thanks to a petition that it sent out to Uber users through their app, receiving some 50,000 signatures in just a matter of days.
There doesn’t seem to be any clear description of what the petition was for or what it wanted, but it isn’t likely to help their cause in the region where they’re trying to grow. The petition, which was sent out to users after a Hong Kong Uber office was raided resulting in the arrest of six drivers and a couple Uber staff, is more likely to display that they don’t care so much about regulations as they do about making waves and making money. It’s actions like sending out this petition which make it a little perplexing that Uber is trying to do things more by the books. Just a couple of months ago in the middle of June, Uber was cited threatening to cut loose some of its contracted drivers in China if they participated in Taxi protests. This would seem to showcase they want to operate professionally and play nice with the region, but sending out this petition to rouse a large number of users probably isn’t going to them a desired outcome.
For all of the growth potential Uber could have due to China’s massive economy and large population, it would seem that they’re taking actions which cause them to take more steps backward than they do forward. It might be due to tactics similar to this petition as well as other questionable practices and negative attention which played a hand in Uber’s profit losses, as leaked documents showed earlier this month that Uber is actually losing money and isn’t quite as profitable as they would have everyone believe. At least, not anymore. One would think then, that taking certain action which might burn the bridges between Uber and a country which could help them significantly profit wise would be a bad move.