Uber's many scrapes with taxi drivers globally

Taxi drivers in Delhi and Mumbai have threatened to go on strike on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, to protest against cab aggregators such as Uber and Ola, who they allege are operating without proper legal permissions.

Uber, which operates in more than 50 countries across the globe, has suffered multiple speed breakers on its ride to success. The rapid global expansion of the $66 billion-valued company(According to reports) has sparked protests from taxi drivers across the world.
 

In some places, Uber has been banned because of its lack of safety measures; elsewhere, licensed cabbies have protesting against the unfair competition – Uber offers discounts to riders that undercut prevailing rates – that have taken their business away.

In Karnataka, the state government had also started impounding taxis, but that was suspended following a High Court directive. Securing a licence from the government would eliminate surge pricing, complying with the maximum fares fixed by the government periodically, and registering with local transport authorities.

Here, are some of the key protests that halted the ride of Uber:

1. Paris, France

In January early this year, at least 20,000 taxi drivers protested across France over competition from non-traditional car services such as Uber. Taxi drivers were demanding that the government should act quickly to block the company’s Uberpop service, which uses drivers without professional licenses. Taxi drivers called this an unfair competition.

In response, the French government has tightened restrictions on Uber’s chauffeured service and ordered Uber and other apps to stop hiring a certain class of salaried drivers that represent about 20-30% of their workforce. In response, hundreds of drivers staged a 'funeral march' in Paris to protest the measures, they said that it will put 10,000 chauffeurs out of work. Uber has suspended the service in Paris in support of the chauffeurs’ protest against the French government. 

2. London, England

Black cab drivers in London in February earlier this year brought London traffic to a standstill to highlight their issues against Uber. 
 

They alleged that the light regulation of the cab aggregation industry is harming cabbies and promoting private firms. They also claimed there is lack of clear policy on taxi-booking apps, and point out that Uber drivers also lack knowledge about the city. 

3. New Delhi, India

In December 2014, Uber was banned in the Indian capital after a woman said she was raped by one of the company’s drivers. The incident provoked outrage at Uber’s failure to check whether the driver had a clean police record after it was found that he had cases registered against him in his hometown. Delhi’s transport department complained that Uber was still operating despite the ban.

Around 300 drivers from Uber protested against the ban and called that it threatened their livelihoods.

4. San Francisco, USA

In San Francisco in 2014, a six-year-old girl died because of an Uber driver’s negligence. Later, Uber deactivated the driver’s account after the accident and claimed he was not on the Uber duty at that time. The company said that they sympathised with the family but they were not at all involved in the tragic accident.

5. Hangzhou, China

In the Chinese city of Hangzhou, there was a confrontation between Uber drivers and local cab drivers  protesting unfair competitive practices. Uber instructed its drivers to steer clear of the protests and warned that they would be fired if they were involved in any such dispute.  

6. Jakarta, Indonesia

The capital of Indonesia has also witnessed violent protests against alleged unfair competition from the app-based taxi services such as Uber. The protest, by taxi and so-called ‘tuktuk’ drivers, turned violent as they started attacking other taxis that refused to join in the protest against hailing and booking apps.

7. Rio De Janerio/Sao Paulo, Brazil

Uber services across Brazil, including in its largest city Rio, also faced oppositions from taxi drivers.

In Sao Paulo, the protests turned violent as a Uber driver was kidnapped by the protesters for a brief period in Sao Paulo.

8. Buenos Aires, Argentina

Uber’s launch in Buenos Aires in June met with widespread protests by drivers of the city’s black and yellow cabs, as the drivers accused the app-based firm of violating local regulations and risking passengers safety by offering rides with drivers who didn’t even have a licence.

9. Christchurch, New Zealand

"Uber go back" was the slogan with which more than 100 taxi drivers protested ride-sharing giant Uber in Christchurch. In a letter written by Christchurch Taxis United, drivers stressed the issue of passengers’ safety, as many Uber drivers, they claimed, were on the road illegally. 

10. Montreal, Canada

Around 2,000 Montreal taxi driver protested in April this year against the low discounted fares offered by Uber. The taxi drivers’ union claimed that over the past few months, taxi drivers had been calling the government to take action against Uber as it continues to expand across the province and the country, which has became a threat to the livelihoods of traditional cabbies.