It would appear that the crisis surrounding international transportation network company, Uber, and local taxi drivers has taken a turn for the worse - at least in Mexico City. On July 28, Uber vehicles were violently attacked by a group of armed individuals within the vicinity of the Mexico City International Airport.
According to reports by The Guardian and the International Business Times, parties involved in the assault "accused Uber of operating from taxi stands designated for traditional cabs authorised by the government." A video clip of the incident details the fracas with individuals seen pelting eggs and flour onto Uber vehicles.
The clip also captures video evidence of rowdy individuals smashing a car's rear window with a boulder and prying off a car's side mirror along with one nasty scene whereby a man is seen shattering a window of an Uber car with what looks like a metal rod.
Said attacks were believed to have occurred just a day before licensed taxi drivers in Mexico took to the streets to protest against the popular app-based service. Earlier in July, Mexico City became the first Latin American city to regulate Uber, with a 1.5% ride levy and an annual permit fee introduced. The move was interpreted by taxi drivers as the local government bending over to the demands of Uber.
"What happened yesterday was a very serious incident that we condemn. Violence is unacceptable. We invite everyone to have a dialogue and we're open to working with authorities and taxi associations to benefit citizens," commented Lorena Villarreal, communications manager for Uber in Latin America.
As violent as the clashes were, Uber has stated that none of the drivers were gravely injured - between 10 to 12 cars have been reported to be damaged. As for what caused the incident in the first place, reports are indicating that members of the mob became unruly after discovering that Uber vehicles were parked nearby the airport as they waited for customers to summon them - effectively depriving other taxi drivers of fares.
In Malaysia, it was announced that Land Public Transport Act 2010 will be amended to allow the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) the authority to take action against transportation network companies such as Uber and Grabcar. For more info, check out our earlier story here as well as a video of a protest held not long ago by the Malaysian Taxi Drivers' Transformation Association (PERS1M).
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