Uber makes inroads around the world despite taxi protests
From Paris to Montevideo, taxi drivers say Uber is stealing their jobs
If news headlines are any indication, 2015 was the year of Uber — or perhaps more appropriately, taxi vs. Uber.
- How cities are dealing with ride-hailing technology
- Courtney Love 'held hostage' in Paris taxi protest, singer says
- Competition Bureau urges regulators to fix taxi rules to compete with ride sharing
Taxi drivers around the world protested against the popular ride-hailing app, arguing that the service took food off their tables and compromised their livelihoods. Meanwhile, Uber has asked numerous governments for regulation to allow the tech-friendly service to operate within the confines of the law.
The protests were to little or no avail. The popular but contentious UberX service that employs non-professional drivers continues to operate in all the cities below except Turin.
France
Anti-Uber protests across France, particularly in Paris and Nice, saw tires set on fire, windows smashed and cars overturned.
The June nationwide protest led Uber to temporarily suspend its UberPOP service there. However, it has since quietly resumed operations as UberX.
Uber is also unpopular with cab drivers elsewhere in Europe.
The UberX service launched in Brussels on Sept. 3.
Although there is an entry on Uber's website for Turin, an Italian city with fewer than a million residents, the service does not currently operate there.
However, premium variations of Uber (like UberBLACK and UberVAN) are available in other Italian cities, namely Roma and Florence.
UberX doesn't operate in The Hague yet, but it does in Amsterdam (launched in September) and Rotterdam (launched in October).
In Latin America, taxi drivers clogged busy city streets to protest against Uber.
In San Jose, Costa Rica, Uber and competitor Lyft were cleared to pick up passengers from the airport in November, despite frequent protests by taxi drivers.
In December, the government of Sao Paulo, Brazil, said it is looking at introducing a model that requires Uber to buy transportation credits for distance covered. The rate would change depending on the time of day and location. Uber called the credit idea "innovative."
Rio de Janeiro — the site of the 2016 Olympics that will attract millions of tourists — in September banned services like Uber outright. However, Reuters reports the service continues to operate despite the ban.
UberX began operations in Montevideo on Nov. 19 despite taxi drivers' opposition.
Bogota, Colombia, was the second Latin American city to get Uber. Now it boasts four car options, including a service called UberANGEL. It's a flat-fee service that people can call on after they've had a few too many drinks.
Australia
UberX use is rampant across Australia, with the service currently offered in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and elsewhere in the country.
That doesn't mean it's legal or that cab drivers are OK with it — a newspaper in the state of Victoria wrote in October that the local taxi bureau has fined Uber drivers upwards of $600,000 and that there were at least a dozen cases before the courts in the state of Victoria alone.
Canada
Taxi drivers in Montreal and Toronto have grabbed headlines for their frequent protesting against Uber, specifically its UberX service. Even so, UberX operates in nine or so cities in Canada, including the aforementioned Montreal and Toronto, as well as Calgary, Ottawa and Windsor.
Canada's Competition Bureau in October released a white paper on the subject, in which it urged cities pondering Uber policies to relax regulations and allow ride-booking services to compete against taxis.
Pro-Uber demonstrations
While taxi drivers around the world are angry about Uber, some of Uber's supporters have come out toting signs of their own, too.
In New York City, people gathered over the summer to support the ride-hailing app and denounce how some cities seem determined to protect the taxi industry.
