Thousands of European Cab Drivers Protest Uber, Taxi Apps Protesters in London, Madrid, Milan Say the Apps Skirt Regulations

Thousands of European Cab Drivers Protest Uber, Taxi Apps
Protesters in London, Madrid, Milan Say the Apps Skirt Regulations
http://online.wsj.com/articles/londons-black-cab-drivers-protest-against...

By LISA FLEISHER CONNECT
Updated June 11, 2014 3:45 p.m. ET
Cab drivers around the world have operated for years in a highly regulated industry. Now, taxi apps such as Uber are edging in, providing several alternate ways for people to get from points A to B. Lisa Fleisher explains. Photo: Bloomberg
LONDON—Thousands of European taxi drivers snarled traffic in cities across the continent, protesting car-hailing services provided by Uber Technologies Inc. and others.

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French taxi drivers blocked a highway outside Paris, near Roissy, on Wednesday as they took part in demonstrations against unlicensed mobile car-hailing services such as Uber, which have shaken up the industry. AFP/Getty Images
Drivers in London, Paris, Berlin and Madrid, among others, have complained that the services aren't competing on a level playing field. In some cities, Uber allows users to hail a privately licensed taxi through a smartphone app or organize a car share, often bypassing regulated taxi drivers.

In one of the biggest demonstrations, London drivers on Wednesday brought streets around Trafalgar Square to a crawl for much of the afternoon, honking their horns and sporting signs denouncing the local transportation agency and several online taxi companies.

"I'm protesting because I respect the future of the London taxi trade," said driver Nick Warren as he idled near the iconic square. Transport for London, the city's transportation agency, said 4,000 to 5,000 taxis turned up for the protest. Organizers put the number at 12,000.

Taxi drivers during a protest in London. Drivers say Uber and others aren't competing on a level playing field. European Pressphoto Agency
San Francisco-based Uber has defended its practices, and used the protests to offer users discounts in various cities. It also rolled out its latest offering in London: the ability to use the app to hail a licensed black cab, in exchange for a small commission on the fare.

"This has received a ton of traction and a ton of support from our riders," said Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, the company's general manager of Western and Northern Europe. In London Uber said the number of app downloads from midnight to noon Wednesday increased more than nine times compared with a week earlier.

Earlier
• As London's Cabbies Strike, Uber Moves to Capitalize
• Taxi Drivers Plan Big Protests in Europe Against Uber
In downtown Madrid, hundreds of drivers left their vehicles at home and marched through the streets and blew whistles. At the front of one crowd, people carried a long banner that read, "For the security of passengers and the future of taxis: Uber illegal!"

Protesters along the Paseo de la Castellana, a central thoroughfare in Madrid, surrounded and pounded on two black sedans thought to be unlicensed taxis, breaking the front and rear windows of one. Police moved in to push the protesters back. No injuries were reported.

ANGRY HACKS: Taxi drivers snarled traffic across Europe Wednesday, including in Berlin, shown, to protest car-hailing apps such as Uber. Reuters
"It´s unfair competition," said José Antonio Benitez, 46 years old, who has been driving taxis for 21 years. "The government says they want a free market, but one that only hurts taxi drivers."

In Italy, the strike was largely concentrated in Milan, where Uber's service has been operating for more than a year and has the greatest number of drivers. Taxi drivers handed out leaflets denouncing Uber and hung a large banner outside Milan's central train station saying "Illegality Reigns Sovereign!" and "Shame!" In Naples, a parade of dozens of taxis protested in the city's center, blocking traffic for a time.
In Paris, hundreds of cabbies led a series of strikes that led to a handful of traffic jams and altercations between taxi drivers and drivers from other services. Some taxi drivers set out for the prime minister's office to demand a meeting.

The protests spread as far as Rio de Janeiro, as the city readies for Thursday's first World Cup match. On Atlantica Avenue, dozens of taxis formed lines and moved slowly along the Copacabana beachfront, close to the luxurious Copacabana Palace hotel.

—Deborah Ball in Milan, Ilan Brat in Madrid, Miriam Jordan in Rio De Janeiro, Friedrich Geiger in Frankfurt and Marion Halftermeyer in Paris contributed to this article.

Write to Lisa Fleisher at lisa.fleisher@wsj.com