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Upset Dallas Uber Drivers Vow To Keep App Off

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DALLAS (CBS11) — Instead of driving on the streets Saturday night, more than 100 transportation-for-hire drivers in Dallas put their cars in park.

These drivers said they are on strike from Uber after the tech company changed its policies this week.

"Do not turn on your app!" drivers shouted at a protest downtown.

These driver said Uber's new policy forces them to accept lower-paying UberX fares or risk being abolished from the Uber platform.

"I can't really make ends meet with that kind of cut in prices," driver Marcel Cicort said.

Cicort said he recently spent $50,000 to buy a new Mercedes SUV, so he could qualify for better-paying Uber Select jobs.

However, he said, under the news rules, he now must also accept UberX jobs. UberX jobs often go non-professional drivers using personal cars.

Cicort said these jobs pay 1/4 of what's he's used to.

"I'm just seriously thinking about turning the car back to the bank," he said.

Uber said by opening up UberX fares to these drivers, it provides them more work.

A spokesperson for the tech company said Uber is committed to making sure its driver-partners make a profit.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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