French cab drivers protest Uber: What Paris might learn from Peoria, Ill.
Add France to the list of countries unhappy with Uber.
French taxi drivers took to the streets Thursday, blocking roads to train stations and airports in Paris and other cities as part of a nationwide protest against the ride-hailing company, Reuters . The rallies, which have merited the presence of police in riot gear, are the latest in a series of battles that Uber is fighting worldwide over issues ranging from driver鈥檚 wages to sexual harassment to cabbie competition.
The last, as France is proving, has been the source of the most heated disputes, both in and out of court. But irate taxi drivers in Paris and elsewhere who are looking for protections in the face of low-cost, high-tech competitors might find a path forward in two different US models of compromise: One in New York City, and another in Peoria, Ill.
On Wednesday, the city council in Peoria approved an ordinance that allows transportation network companies such as Uber to operate in the city. The legislation gives taxi operators fare flexibility similar to that which is enjoyed by Uber for pick-ups that are pre-arranged via phone or app 鈥� but retains the city鈥檚 fare cap for taxis hailed on the street, according to the Peoria Journal Star.
Cab companies will also have the option to buy the insurance required of Uber, which has lower coverage minimums. Rules relating to driver background checks and vehicle inspection and maintenance are the same for both taxi and transportation network companies. According to the Journal Star鈥檚 :
The city set out 鈥渢o strike a balance,鈥� said City Manager Patrick Urich, with neither side getting everything it wanted. Uber may not quite have the same advantages it does in other metropolitan areas, and the longstanding cab companies 鈥� seven of them now operate in the city 鈥� will have additional competition.
Two days before the Peoria City Council鈥檚 vote, New York City鈥檚 unanimously passed a set of new for addressing the growth of ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft, whose vehicles, to the alarm of taxi drivers and companies, outnumbered the city鈥檚 yellow cabs as of March.
The new rules require app services to supply information on surge pricing 鈥� ensuring that customers are aware of increased charges at the beginning of a ride 鈥� and to generate itemized receipts, customer service contact information, and fare estimates.
A major point of contention was a rule that Uber worried 鈥渃ould have been read to mean that it had to seek the commission鈥檚 approval for any software changes, which Uber said could stifle innovation,鈥� the New York Times . The commission that wasn鈥檛 the intent, but modified the final proposal to say it required notification, not approval, of software updates, according to the Times.
Both models have limitations. The Big Apple鈥檚 new rules are a small and perhaps unsatisfying compromise in the larger scheme of things; Michael Woloz, a spokesman for New York鈥檚 Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, which represents taxi medallion owners, called Uber a 鈥渟poiled child鈥� and told the Times that requiring software approval was a 鈥渁 perfectly reasonable thing for a regulatory agency to ask for.鈥�
There鈥檚 also no guarantee that regulations such as Peoria鈥檚 can be adapted to larger metropolitan areas, where the laws, politics, and balance of power may be different. In places such as Paris, for instance, the sticking point for taxi drivers is UberPop, a service that uses non-professional drivers who don鈥檛 have to pay France鈥檚 steep taxi licensing fees 鈥� which can cost , according to The Verge.
Thursday鈥檚 protests, which have devolved into scuffles between drivers and intervention from French riot police, show that tensions there may have reached breaking point.
鈥淲e are faced with permanent provocation (from Uber) to which there can only be one response: total firmness in the systematic seizure of offending vehicles,鈥� Serge Metz, head of Europe鈥檚 G7 taxi firm, said on French television, Reuters reported.
鈥淲e are truly sorry to have to hold clients and drivers hostage,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not doing this lightly.鈥�
