Erdogan Bans Uber: 'That Business Is Finished'
Erdogan Bans Uber: 'That Business Is Finished'
BY PHIL BAKER JUNE 11, 2018
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, announced
that he’s expelling Uber from Turkey, a result of pressure from Istanbul's taxi
industry. Istanbul taxi drivers, numbering more than 17,000, claimed Uber was
providing an illegal service and that it needs to be banned.
Ever since Uber began its service in Turkey in 2014, it's
caused dissension among the country's taxi drivers, not unlike what's happening
elsewhere.
In a speech on Friday, Erdogan said, “This thing called
Uber emerged. That business is finished. That does not exist anymore. We have
our taxi system.... Where does this come from? It is used in Europe, I do not
care about that.... We will decide by ourselves.... No non-taxpayers can do
business here.... It is our duty to remove this network, which works illegally
in your field.”
Uber had no comment but had noted that 2,000 drivers use
the service while another 5,000 work for UberXL, the service that uses vans and
SUVs.
Istanbul’s taxi drivers have had a contentious
relationship with Uber, taking them to court and accusing the company of
hurting their business and operating illegally in the country.
Prime Minister Yıldırım said the taxi drivers should take
responsibility for providing better services for users. He called on them to
improve the conditions that led customers to prefer to use Uber.
Riders generally prefer Uber and its competitor Lyft to
most taxi services because cars are available on demand within minutes, they're
less expensive, offer a range of vehicles including SUVs, and allow a cashless
transaction.
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