Uber the on demand taxi app which was recently in the news for raising more than a billion dollar through funding is in the spotlight again, but for all the wrong reasons. This app has been such a huge phenomenon that people all over the world started making full use of it. According to the latest report the company registered an 850 percent increase in new users.
Uber app is such a convenient app as it allows the user to work out the price of the rides easily. It works much like the meter on the city cabs. This has not gone down well with the traditional cab services as they demand more regulation of its services. So, most of the traditional cab drivers are now staging an anti-Uber protest in various countries throughout Europe.
London bearing the brunt of the protest
Of all the cities across Europe, London has been the worst affected city as all the black cabbies staged a huge protest which brought the entire city to a gridlock. According to one estimate, a total of 12000 drivers participated in the protests which disrupted the capital’s roads. The protests began at 2 PM local time on Wednesday at Trafalgar Square. The police force had to impose certain conditions as the protestors did not participate in a meeting to sort out the issue.
Reason for the mass protests
These protestors feel that the phenomenal rise in popularity of this app has led to mushrooming of many unlicensed drivers who are taking advantage of the situation as they do not have to undergo any checks on their legitimacy. Also, it costs a lot to get a taxi license these days, but with the Uber app, anyone can now use his/her car as a taxi. People at Uber though dismissed the protest which was carried out by the Licensed Taxi Drives Association(LTDA) saying that the cabbies are still living in the twentieth century. This whole protest cost the economy more than 125 million pounds.
The COO of surface transport in the city of London, Garrett Emmerson described the protests as pointless as the issue is sub judice and it is the courts that will decide whether this app which the users have welcomed is good for the society or not. However, the judgment is not likely to come anytime soon. Cities which faced the same crisis across Europe include Paris, Berlin and Barcelona among many others.
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