Taxi Drivers Clog Center City Protesting Uber
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Taxi drivers are blocking some streets in Center City to protest Uber operating in Philadelphia.
#KYWTraffic off ramps from Vine to Broad are blocked both ways-cab driver demo @ city hall-JAM https://t.co/YTlU1Zfg0m
— KYW Newsradio (@KYWNewsradio) February 11, 2016
Pissed taxi drivers tie up #centercity traffic pic.twitter.com/PrbvcPkHdw
— Pat Loeb (@PatLoeb) February 11, 2016
15th Street between Arch Street and Market Street is clogged back to Vine Street because of the demonstration.
Uber released a statement saying, "Philadelphia has shown tremendous demand for more affordable options like uberX, and the Mayor as well as the City Council have expressed their support for ridesharing. At the same time, the taxi industry has resisted competition and innovation at every turn, even going so far as working with the PPA to make sure Philadelphia is excluded from the regulations that currently govern uberX in 66 out of 67 counties in Pennsylvania."
"By partnering with paratransit services, Uber has helped make accessible transit work in Philadelphia. Riders with disabilities can get a ride in minutes through Uber, while they're often left stranded by taxi services. Although we are always looking for new ways to better serve all individuals who are disabled, Uber has in fact been praised by the author of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for increasing the mobility and freedom of drivers and riders with disabilities."
Uber says today's protest was organized by leaders in the taxi industry, including the head of the Philadelphia Cab Association the President of the Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania.
In December, drivers of Uber's more expensive black carservice are protested the less costly UberX drivers, saying they take up all the fares in Philadelphia.