The taxi hailing service is having a torrid couple of months when it comes to protests and issues with licencing regulations around the world. After more than 200 cars were impounded in Cape Town in the last 6 months, the local trouble has now shifted to Johannesburg.
Uber has been forced to recruit private security guards to preserve the safety of its drivers in South Africa‘s largest metropole, which was prompted by protests at the Gautrain Station and Sandton City.
According to Eyewitness News, a group of disgruntled taxi drivers tried to intimidate drivers of Uber vehicles, as well as the passengers themselves. In one incident, a driver was held at gunpoint and had their car keys pulled from the ignition. Then it was the customers who started receiving the brunt of the unpleasantness, with protestors telling them that they were “taking away business from South Africa.”
This makes Johannesburg the latest city in a long line to experience these kind of protests. Recently, company was faced with such enormous violence in France that it had to suspend UberPOP (equivalent to our UberX). The service has also been met with bans in Germany and Spain.
What are your thoughts on Uber? Do you believe they have some regulatory hurdles to overcome or are they just disrupting an industry that has been stagnant for way too long? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Eyewitness News
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