A convoy of taxis arrived at the city’s courthouse Tuesday morning to deliver an injunction against the company Uber.
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Taxi users in Nairobi are caught up in what is turning out to be a vicious and violent war between established cab operators and Uber.
Councillor Sam Merulla has announced plans to bring forward a motion at next week’s council meeting asking staff to create a new licensing category for ride-sharing agencies, including Uber.
He says Uber’s service has nothing in common with the practice of people giving their neighbours a lift into work free of charge.
City council will meet on Wednesday to decide whether or not to pass an injunction against the ride-sharing service.
Uber spokesman Jean-Christophe De Le Rue called the union’s accusations “groundless and an attempt to preserve the monopoly of the taxi industry to the detriment of consumers”.
Uber, in turn, argued that developing a mobile app that lets customers hail nearby cars makes it a technology company rather than a transportation firm. The union representing 4,000 Quebec drivers and taxi owners has revealed to file a class-action lawsuit application against Uber and threatened of protests by the taxi industry against the popular service. UberX connects private drivers, who use their own vehicles, with passengers.
Chanting “Uber out” and ‘Stop Uber, ‘ the crown of up to 400 taxi drivers vented their frustrations.
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They say that puts them at a disadvantage against Uber because they have more upfront costs. “I am hopeful that maybe the federal government, Justin Trudeau, might be able to advise provinces or municipalities to enforce the law”.
