French taxis strike after weeks of rising tension over Uber

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By LORI HINNANT

PARIS (AP) — French taxis went on a nationwide strike Thursday, snarling traffic in major cities after weeks of rising and sometimes violent tensions over Uber. Travelers hoping to catch a flight walked alongside the highway, rolling their bags behind them, as riot police fired tear gas canisters to hold back some strikers.

Despite repeated rulings outlawing Uber's lowest-cost service, its drivers continue to ply French roads and the American company is actively recruiting.

Uber's more expensive livery service is still legal but a source of intense frustration for taxi drivers, who pay tens of thousands of euros (dollars) for their medallions and who face customer complaints that they are being resistant to changes such as credit cards and geolocation.

Taxi drivers complain that Uber unfairly undercuts them and in recent weeks nearly 100 Uber drivers have been attacked, sometimes while carrying customers. In one case, a taxi passenger was left with a broken face and black eye after he praised Uber.

FULL story at link.



A Paris cab parks during a blockade by taxi drivers in Paris, Thursday, June 25, 2015 in Paris. French taxis are on strike around the country, snarling traffic in major cities and slowing access to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport after weeks of rising and sometimes violent tensions over Uber. (AP Photo/Bertrand Combaldieu)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/91f2c0a3623046188597b3f75d2db080/french-taxis-strike-after-weeks-rising-tension-over-uber

[Travis_0004]

1. If they strike, I guess people are forced to used Uber then.

[Recursion]

2. The medallion racket needs to end

Set high inspection/licensing standards, but don't arbitrarily limit the number of cabs.

[underahedgerow]

3. It's no wonder Uber is preferred. MUCH better service, MUCH cheaper than taxis. When we call one of

few, more popular taxi services, they start charging before they even arrive at the door. I've had charges rack up to 15 euros BEFORE I get in the cab, even when racing down the stairs. I've called many times during peak hours only to be told nothing was available.

And I usually have to tell the driver which route to take, since they do like to take the scenic route, so to speak.

My daughter got in a bootleg cab very late one night, her mistake. He started going the totally wrong direction and was acting weird and she literally jumped out of the taxi at her first opportunity and ran the other direction, poor kid. She was ok, she went with her gut instinct on that one, always the wisest move.

And the cab drivers in Nice and Cannes are even worse! It costs 10 euros more to take a flipping HELICOPTER to Monaco from Nice Airport than to take a cab! I paid 20 euros to book a cab to a very early morning train in Cannes, it was too early for the bus; and it was just 6 kms; it literally took less than 10 minutes. Crooks I tell ya.

I have no pity for the cab drivers. However, I can see the point in eliminating the medallion fees. That would level the playing field a lot.