Thailand orders Uber and Grab to stop motorbike services

Via Bangkok Post:

Authorities have ordered GrabBike and UberMoto, smartphone-based motorcycle taxi services, to stop operating due to violations of public transport regulations.

Department of Land Transport (DLT) deputy chief Nanthapong Cherdchoo issued the order after meeting a representative from UberMoto Tuesday.

The DLT says the transport apps are operating illegally and have failed to pay taxes. It adds they pose “a risk to national security” over possible conflicts with registered motor taxis. If that’s the case then it means the Thai government is flip-flopping on its stance about those apps. Remember Uber launched UberMoto in Bangkok last February with much fanfare, even partnering with the Thai traffic police.

The Bangkok Post reports that Uber and Grab have been removed from local app stores, but our checks reveal otherwise. One of our readers based in Thailand also tells us he’s still able to install the apps, although UberMoto is nowhere to be found within the Uber app.

We’ve reached out to Grab and Uber for comments.

Uber confirms in a blog post that it has halted UberMoto’s operations. “Despite strong support from Thai riders and drivers, we have decided to temporarily suspend our Bangkok pilot, starting at noon while we work on creating modern regulations for app-based motorbike services with the government.” Read Uber’s full statement here.

Grab has also suspended GrabBike “temporarily.” It’s moving its 10,000 GrabBike riders in Thailand over to its delivery service. It’ll join discussions with the government to work towards enabling GrabBike again.