Tuesday, 22 March 2016

Indonesian taxi drivers riot over Uber

Traffic in the Indonesian city of Jakarta was brought to a halt on Tuesday thanks to violent protests.

The protests came from Jakarta's taxi drivers, who have caused traffic jams by blocking off several main roads. 

Some of these drivers have also been seen on social media damaging vehicles and confronting bystanders.

Their actions come as a response to the Indonesian government's apparent refusal to regulate or outright ban ride-sharing services Uber, Grab (formerly known as GrabTaxi) and GoJek, local media reports. 

Uber and Grab focus mainly on car-based transportation, while GoJek has its drivers use motorcycles to ferry passengers through Jakarta's infamous traffic jams.

Another cause of tension for cabbies is the loss of income due to these ride-sharing services, a recurring complaint from taxi drivers around the world.

This is the second demonstration in Indonesia in just over a week about this issue, with peaceful protests occuring last Monday.

It's far from the first time Uber has caused such unrest for taxi drivers, with similar protests having happened over in London and the United States, among other nations, over the last year. The controversy doesn't appear to have hurt Uber much though, with the San Francisco-based company being worth around $60 billion as of last December, according to Bloomberg.

Grab and GoJek refused to shut down their business for the day, despite the protests. Uber attempted to turn a negative into a positive, announcing that it had turned off surge pricing for the day to encourage users to fetch a ride.

This article was first published on cnet.com

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