Cab Drivers Protest Ridesharing Apps In Major Cities

According to official sources, approximately 500 cabs were stationed in front of the Romanian Government and on nearby boulevards.

The drivers consider that ridesharing apps represent unfair competition and want companies offering such services, such as Uber or Taxify, to be classified as passenger transporters and be taxed accordingly.

This is not a political meeting (…) We are protesting because the decision of the European Court of Justice, which decided that apps which do unauthorized passenger transport should be classified as transporters, not as online service providers. We don’t request money, we only want the law to be respected. There are more than 100,000 unauthorized individuals who function this way in Romania, and Uber, Taxify, Bla Bla Car and Clever Go function without problem, receive orders and money, all while defying the law for transports and taxi businesses which we respect,” Vasile Stefanescu, chairman of the Confederation of Romanian Authorized Operators and Transporters (COTAR), told MEDIAFAX.

In Iasi, more than 1,000 cab drivers with 500 cars protested near the local Prefecture, while 700 cabs also held a gathering against ride-sharing apps in Timisoara. In the latter case, almost half of the city’s cabs took part in the protest, which effectively blocked taxi activity throughout the city for a couple of hours.

Protests in both cities are set to continue on Thursday.

A spokesman for the Banat Taxi Association in Timisoara announced that if there is no official action taken in wake of the protest, local cab drivers will join a protest in Bucharest on February 27 and 28.

COTAR also announced that the protests will continue if the cab driver’s demands are not met.

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