June 11, 2014
The battle between ride-sharing apps and conventional taxis in cities around the world has been escalating for months.
Today, however, marked one of the most confrontational days in this taxi competition tussle (if not the most confrontational to date) with protests in London and across Europe.
I thought it would be interesting to gather a few quotes on both sides of the debate to illustrate some of the issues at play, both livelihood and competition/technology related. Below are a few highlights from media reports today.
ANTI-RIDE-SHARING APPS:
“They’re killing us off, starving us out” (Mick Fitz, London black cab driver for years).
“We are not objecting to competition. We have had competition for years from minicabs but we haven’t caused gridlock over it. We have to jump through hoops to be regulated and we don’t feel people involved in these new apps are being subject to the same regulations” (Ian Beetlestone, Rail, Maritime and Transport Union).
“The hackney carriage is iconic, and it is absolutely right that our cabbies are properly protected. … Indeed it is enshrined in law that only black cab drivers have the right to be hailed from the street, and that principle, the bedrock on which our black cabs operate, will never change” (London Mayor Boris Johnson).
“This is about an all-out assault on our profession, our livelihoods … These big companies are coming in, not playing by the rules” (Max Small, London taxi driver for 34 years).
“This protest is about the ripping up of establishing metering and hire regulations in the name of greed and private profit and the decimation of London’s black cabs” (Mick Cash, acting general secretary, Rail, Maritime and Transport Union).
“We have to have a license to own a cab, we have to have a driver’s license, a cab driver’s license … For some reason they seem to be outside the law” (Mark Haslam, 58 old black cab driver, London).
“While we are demonstrating, the other guys are hauling people around … There have to be better ways. Ultimately I think folks know that they can always count on the good old cab to get them where they need to be” (Sarikaya, 22, black cab driver, London).
“It is shocking that taxi drivers protesting in defence of their trade should be threatened with blanket arrest, and RMT is calling on the police to lift this draconian warning and the threat to criminalise the entire licensed taxi industry” (Mick Cash, acting general secretary, Rail, Maritime and Transport Union).
“Its just not fair that somebody can come in and start taking our business just because multi-billionaires are running the company. … We’ve been going for hundreds and hundreds of years with a perfectly good sevice, why has it got to change?” (Gary, London black cab driver).
“[Private car services] are taxis without being taxis. … We are against them. There needs to be the same rules for all” (Kader Djielouli, Paris taxi driver).
“These apps don’t offer proper, decent, quality transportation! … Climb into one of those and you may as well say ‘Mug me!’” (64-year-old driver Barbara Novak).
“After three years, I bought my license for 137,000 euros ($185,400). … It’s more than my house! So I need work, and I have to work 16 hours a day to do it” (Taxi driver Maria Eugenia Hernaz).
“When you get in a black cab … you know you’re getting a driver who’s knowledgeable, who’s fully licensed – many of these guys are tour guides too. They know the history of London. And let’s face it … the black cab is an icon of London” (Jamie Owens, aka “SuperCabby”, blogger).
“Everyone should play by the same rules. … You can’t have competition between someone who pays all their taxes and someone who doesn’t” (Richard Leipold, Chairman, Berlin Taxi Association).
‘‘There’s room for everyone, but you have to obey the law. … Uber isn’t properly regulated. It’s a slippery slope. Quality of life will go down if these services are allowed to operate” (Mario Dalmedo, London taxi driver).
“Yes this is chaos, its causing havoc in the very centre of London, but what other choice have we got?” (Ian Hay, taxi driver with 14 years experience).
“I will be there today with the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) because I believe it is important for our traditional industry, made up of thousands of hard-working sole traders, to stand up in the face of aggressive tactics from multimillion dollar multinationals” (Taxi driver Ian Beetlestone).
“For years the government has slapped new fees onto taxis and imposed more constraints — everything from car colours to, now, GPS tracking. … The least we’re asking for is that our competitors get the same tough love” (Nadine Annet, vice president, France’s FNAT taxi association).
PRO-RIDE-SHARING APPS:
“We cannot address these challenges by ignoring them, by going on strike, or by trying to ban these innovations out of existence. … If we don’t use digital technology then millions of jobs will simply move elsewhere and Europeans will get angry that they are denied the convenience that people in Asia and Australia and America and Africa take for granted” (Neelie Kroes, European Union Commissioner).
“This persecution of its own customers (and ours) by the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) is plain and simple urban terrorism. But worse, I’m wondering where the buck stops when someone dies because an ambulance or fire engine couldn’t get through the traffic?” (Pimlico Plumbers CEO Charlie Mullins).
“The cab drivers protesting this week will not be able to prevent technological innovation any more than the machine-breakers of the 19th century could stop the spread of the power loom” (Simon Walker, director general, Institute of Directors).
“What you are seeing today is an industry that has not faced competition for decades. Now finally we are seeing competition from companies such as Uber which is bringing choice to consumers” (Uber Regional Manager, Western Europe).
“London wants Uber in a big way” (Uber general manager, Jo Bertram).
“Londoners are voting with their fingers, tapping the app in support of new and innovative services as we see our biggest day of sign-ups in London today since launch two years ago. In fact, today we’re seeing an 850% increase in sign-ups compared to last Wednesday. The results are clear: London wants Uber in a big way. Unsurprisingly, the London Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA), which is stuck in the dark ages, is intent on holding London to ransom and causing significant economic impact to Londoners today, estimated to be £125m. We join Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police in calling on the LTDA and others to call off this unnecessary and irresponsible strike. We passed TfL’s most stringent and comprehensive audit of a Private Hire Vehicle operator to date, passing with flying colours. We are proud to be to be in London, we are proud to serve London, and we are here to stay. Uber on London!” (Uber general manager, Jo Bertram).
“A strike won’t work … What we need is real dialogue where we talk about these disruptions caused by technology” (European Commission Vice President, Neelie Kroes).
“While the taxi protests may seek to bring Europe to a standstill, we’ll be on hand to get our riders from A to B” (Uber announcement)
“European cities have tended to regulate taxi drivers much more than the U.S. … I do think the protests have a better chance of succeeding” (Charles Lichfield, analyst at Eurasia Group, London).
“Consumers want to have these services. I’ve personally never sat in a run-down Uber car, but I’ve definitely experienced a lot of run-down taxis. … It is a bit scary how protectionist Europe can be” (Arndt Ellinghorst, head of automotive research, ISI Group, London).
“Citizens of these cities are getting around the cities much more cheaply … How does a regulator or city official take that away from the population?” (Travis Kalanick, Uber CEO).
“A number of taxi drivers are set to cause pointless disruption for Londoners over a legal issue that is down to the courts to decide upon” (Garrett Emmerson, Transport for London).
“People prefer Uber … Look at all those empty black cabs. They’re just upset because they’re losing customers” (Masood, London Uber driver).
“We’re welcoming London’s Black Cab drivers to Uber from today, and look forward to opening up opportunities to them with our growing pool of customers in London” (Jo Bertram, Uber general manager).
“Finally seeing some sort of competition coming to the market is something that is new … And even on the protest today, what I’m seeing is taxis are trying to bring cities to a standstill, while Uber is focused on helping as many people as possible move around cities” (Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber general manager for Western and Northern Europe).
“You know, it happens all the time that new innovations take opportunities that had been the realm of incumbents …” (Ben Edelman, Harvard Business School).
“Black cabs have been a symbol of London for many decades, known across the world. But symbols, no matter how iconic, cannot be allowed to stand in the way of innovation” (Simon Walker, Britain’s Institute of Directors).
‘‘In Paris, the number of taxis hasn’t changed since the 1950s. … The strikes are an attempt to desperately fight against competition in the market (Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber general manager for Western and Northern Europe).
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