Black cab drivers are wrong to protest against Uber
This week’s black cab driver protest in Central London against the American taxi app Uber is a disgrace and it should be called off argues Matthew Steeples.
London’s taxis are an iconic part of our city but they are overpriced and run in a fashion that now has been shown to be as arrogantly orchestrated as that of the late Bob Crowe’s National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and Ken Livingstone’s tenure as the head of the Greater London Council.
The cabbies’ protest – to be held on Wednesday from 2pm – aims to bring the area around Trafalgar Square to a standstill and could cost London’s economy up to £125 million. Up to 12,000 taxi drivers are due to participate and they claim to be doing so because they believe Uber to be an “American monster” and “upstart cowboy” operation that is threatening their livelihoods.
Uber, I would suggest, however, offers consumers a quick, efficient and cheaper alternative to black cabs. London is a city where you cannot walk out of the door without spending a small fortune and though cab drivers don’t like it, Uber is offering just what we all demand. It is time that cab drivers accepted that their monopoly needs to be quashed and that we, the public, are right to seek out services that provide better value for money.
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