Posted on 07/27/2015 10:00:42 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
RIO DE JANEIRO - More than a thousand taxi drivers protested in Rio de Janeiro on Friday against ride-sharing company Uber [UBER.UL], blocking roads and stalling traffic during morning rush hour as tensions rise in the city over the mobile app ride service.
Uber Technologies Inc responded by offering free rides to customers to help alleviate transport issues on what it called a "difficult day for getting around."
The company has come under fire in countries around the world, with local taxi drivers complaining that Uber drivers are not properly regulated and have fewer overhead costs, which makes them unfairly competitive.
Lawmakers in Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest city, and capital city Brasilia have already voted to ban Uber after protests by local taxi drivers. The bills still require executive approval before taking force.
In Rio, cabbies parked their yellow taxis in a chain stretching for 5 kilometers (3 miles) along one of the city's main thoroughfares that connects the affluent south zone with the central business district. Taxi drivers honked their horns and chanted.
"We want to combat the illegal (drivers). We are the official ones, we have a responsibility, we are professionals who have families," said Alexander Campos, a taxi driver from Belo Horizonte who drove the 400 kilometers (248 miles) to Rio for the protest.
In a statement, Uber said it defends customer choice and that "innovation is crucial" in a city like Rio, "which has a population in need of more options and receives millions of tourists a year."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
dumb dumb in the pink shirt should be charged with destruction of property..
if only there was a cop near by...
cabbies everywhere are getting pissed off at Uber. Uber drivers are also getting pissed off at Uber, Uber keeps doping rates to gain riders and now they are getting the taxi reject drivers and passengers.
Should be: “Death to all Monopolies - Especially Governments.” :)
uh...when the Union thugs are done, perhaps the Uber drivers could return the favor?
(I’m assuming much larger Uber numbers...)
these morons are really doing Rio a great dis-service making its residents look like simple minded thugs!
BOYCOTT RIO
They complain about regulations that make them uncompetitive, yet they don’t strike against the regulations.
I missed a connecting flight forcing me to get a hotel. I exited the airport and got in line for a taxi. Once on my way the driver informed me that, because of where I was gong, the rate was x2. I was confused, I asked why. Apparently, if your destination is not inside certain counties the rate is x2. He pointed me to a notice on the back of the front seat.
I asked, “so if I want to go 15 miles in one direction vs. 15 miles in another direction it costs twice as much?”. The answer was “yep”. He again pointed me to the notice. I told him I didn’t care about the reason, it was complete BS. He then informed me if I’d taken a taxi in a DIFFERENT line the rule doesn’t apply. I asked how the hell I was supposed to know that? ...no answer.
This industry has influenced regulations for so long it is not competitive, they’ve locked it down. Now a technology comes along and just makes them irrelevant. The real point is - if they weren’t so anti-competition in the first place something like Uber may not have come into existence.
On my last trip I took an Uber ride for 1/2 hour, shared with another, it cost me $15. A taxi would have charged $50+.
This is no different than trying to ban cars to save the blacksmiths. You can’t stop it, no matter how hard you try.
People hate change unless it is forced on them?
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