Anti-Uber protesters are causing crazy traffic problems in Europe
Thousands of taxi drivers across Europe are staging protests against taxi-hailing app Uber today, claiming that the California-based app lacks regulations and therefore threatens their livelihood. Among other things, angry drivers say Uber circumvents local licensing and tax laws, putting regular cabbies at a disadvantage.
Cabbies are striking in Paris, Lisbon, Berlin, and Madrid, with some of the biggest clashes happening in London today.
"We understand it's a competitive market place, but they're [Uber] not playing by the rules," Jim Thompson, a taxi driver for 30 years, told Reuters. "We're fighting for our livelihoods here. No one's going to take it lying down."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During this evening's rush hour, an estimated 12,000 drivers drove slowly around London's Trafalgar Square and ended up clogging the city's busiest roads. Uber, meanwhile, wasn't phased by the protests. In addition to disputing the claims that they don't abide by local laws, the app offered its users special discounts and urged peeved black cab drivers to join its service instead.
Below are some photos from London and Berlin of today's pandemonium. --Jordan Valinsky
Iframe Code
Iframe Code
Iframe Code
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
-
The growing thirst for camel milk
Under the radar Climate change and health-conscious consumers are pushing demand for nutrient-rich product – and the growth of industrialised farming
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published