More than 30,000 drivers from London, Paris, Madrid, and Berlin blocked access to airports, shopping districts, and tourist centers, in hopes that the demonstrations would convince regulators to apply stricter rules to Uber. The biggest turnout is in London, with an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 drivers of black cabs and private hire cars converging on Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square, snarling traffic in a "go-slow protest."
On the other side of the globe, taxi drivers in Rio de Janeiro also disrupted traffic to protest Uber ahead of the World Cup.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3031779/most-innovative-companies/on-two-continents-cabbies-protest-uber-by-bringing-traffic-to-a-st
But why are they protesting, what are Uber and Lyft if not just other taxi services? (answer...honest)
.... San Francisco's taxi system is notoriously horrible, with too few cabs on the road, too many cabbies who lie about having broken credit card machines so customers will pay cash, and problematic drivers.
A look at 1,700 customer complaints by the Bay Citizen reveals all sorts of issues, including cabbies smoking, texting while driving, falling asleep at the wheel, and just being rude.
In some cities, ridesharing services like Lyft, Sidecar, and Uber are just starting to take hold. But in San Francisco, they're already clobbering the taxi industry. The president of DeSoto Cab Co., one of the biggest cab companies in the city, said in a recent interview that he would be surprised if San Francisco's cab industry survives another 18 months.
It's not that ridesharing services are perfect, but when getting a cab is nearly impossible, apps promise quick rider pick-ups, online payments, and these new rideshare companies have two-way driver/rider rating systems.... and taxis? Don't.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3031448/heres-an-idea/head-of-san-francisco-cab-company-predicts-lyft-and-uber-will-put-the-industry
On the other side of the globe, taxi drivers in Rio de Janeiro also disrupted traffic to protest Uber ahead of the World Cup.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3031779/most-innovative-companies/on-two-continents-cabbies-protest-uber-by-bringing-traffic-to-a-st
But why are they protesting, what are Uber and Lyft if not just other taxi services? (answer...honest)
.... San Francisco's taxi system is notoriously horrible, with too few cabs on the road, too many cabbies who lie about having broken credit card machines so customers will pay cash, and problematic drivers.
A look at 1,700 customer complaints by the Bay Citizen reveals all sorts of issues, including cabbies smoking, texting while driving, falling asleep at the wheel, and just being rude.
In some cities, ridesharing services like Lyft, Sidecar, and Uber are just starting to take hold. But in San Francisco, they're already clobbering the taxi industry. The president of DeSoto Cab Co., one of the biggest cab companies in the city, said in a recent interview that he would be surprised if San Francisco's cab industry survives another 18 months.
It's not that ridesharing services are perfect, but when getting a cab is nearly impossible, apps promise quick rider pick-ups, online payments, and these new rideshare companies have two-way driver/rider rating systems.... and taxis? Don't.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3031448/heres-an-idea/head-of-san-francisco-cab-company-predicts-lyft-and-uber-will-put-the-industry
