Taxi drivers block streets of Rio in protest against Uber
Taxi drivers block streets of Rio in protest against Uber
Reuters 1 hour ago
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - More than a thousand taxi
drivers protested in Rio de Janeiro on Friday against ride-sharing company Uber,
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."
The company also offered people in Rio two free rides up
to the value of 50 reais ($15) each from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, with an
accompanying Twitter hashtag #RIONAOPARA or "Rio doesn't stop."
($1 = 3.32 reais)
(Reporting by Reuters TV in Rio de Janeiro and Stephen
Eisenhammer in Brasilia; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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