“It’s a car Uber” says one of the taxi drivers. The statement is part of a video, with just over a minute, where a group of taxi drivers prevents a car from moving forward. The image was recorded on Saturday, near the area of the Portela airport arrivals in Lisbon. The video is circulating on social networks and generate controversy. Just read half a dozen comments to realize that the image of Lisbon taxi drivers is not the best.
It was 11 am when Nikita Kaminskyy left the airport Portela the door of arrivals. I did not want to “pay € 20, when he was making a trip € 7 or € 8″, so picked up the phone and by Uber, called a car to take you home. As expected, turned out to attend a “shameful scene.”
A tourist, in their 20s also had resorted to Uber to get to your destination. When the car arrived Uber Black “the girl opened the door to enter and suddenly there are two taxi drivers.” “I do not know how to describe. They shouted, called the police and asked for help to colleagues not to let the car leave. They did not let the girl shut the door. Until the police arrive joined five or six taxi drivers. The girl was also nervous, “reported the Express Nikita Kaminskyy, the author of the video that was posted that day on YouTube.
It all happened very fast, in less than three minutes the authorities showed up and “the thing resolved itself by identifying the foreign girl and the driver of Uber. Then drove on. “
On these images, the Uber prefers to be silent. Contacted by Express , the company declined to comment. Already the National Association of Road Carriers for Passenger Cars (ANTRAL) says that violence is reprehensible, however “if the police do not act to prevent these illegalities, someone will have to do.”
Conflict between taxi drivers and Uber is not new. The ANTRAL filed an injunction in the District Court of Lisbon, which was accepted. Following the decision, the June 1, the Bank of Portugal ordered the suspension of payments to Uber. The next day it was the turn of communications operators block access to the company website.
The communication operators blocked the access to the uber the June 2, 2015
The Uber is an application for smartphones where you can order a trip by defining the points of departure and arrival. It is immediately indicated the cost of the course and how much time will have to wait until the car’s arrival . Then just confirm the order. Finally, comes the name and photograph of the driver assigned to it.
“This tourist even had to thank”
Taxi drivers are protesting against the shipping company. The ANTRAL says aware of other situations with contours similar to what happened at Portela Airport on Saturday, but guarantees that are episodes “sporadic.” And are due to the “desperation” of the people.
“[Taxi drivers] feel wronged because if there are court decisions that say the Uber can not work in Portugal and the police do not act or do so only rarely – at Lisbon airport some drivers were fined . I think this begins to despair people, “said Florencio de Almeida, president of the association.
According to ANTRAL, these actions have intensified in that area of the capital, in the last eight days. Taxi drivers, when they realize that the car is Uber warn the authorities. “As far as I have in these last days, raised about 50 cars,” adds Florencio de Almeida.
Source of the Metropolitan Command of the Public Security Police of Lisbon confirmed to Express in recent days, in the airport area, they were really “raised the case Uber vehicles” because they are operating a service that is forbidden to work. In most cases, only the driver was identified. Now, the processes proceed to the Institute for Mobility and Transport, which “will probably spend a fine.”
Regarding the video, the president of ANTRAL admits have not yet seen, but ensures that “this tourist ought to thank, “the intervention of the taxi drivers. “It’s being carried by a driver who has no qualification: lack CAP [Certificate of Professional Aptitude] and may be under the influence of alcohol. If you have an accident the insurance will not pay you anything at all, because those cars have insurance as private cars and not for passenger transport. These people should to thank, because they are being alerted to the danger they are running, “he argued.
The protests of taxi drivers, tells ANTRAL are” about the illegality that Uber is pursuing in Portugal, disregarding the people transport legislation and own decisions of the court “. Florencio de Almeida condemns the violence and aggression that the protests might take, although be warned that “if the police do not act to prevent these illegalities someone will have to do.”
Jose Ventura
The ANTRAL regrets the police of acting, as a rule, when they are warned of the presence of vehicles in the service of Uber, only identify the driver and the passenger. Situation which, in the opinion of that association is not enough: “You must be seized the vehicle” means Florencio de Almeida ..
The burning war against Uber is not unheard of, for example, in late June, in France the torrnaram up violent protests. In cities such as Lyon, Nice, Marseille, Paris and Strasbourg, the cars were vandalized and attacked motorists. “Offenders without qualification and without professional driving license,” it read on the posters placed in glasses of the cars of the company.
Also in Brazil taxi drivers took to the streets and even managed to clog some of the main roads, to prevent the normal functioning of traffic.
How does the Uber continues to function?
According to setença the Court of Lisbon, Uber is considered “illegal, publicized the misleading way and pose a risk to those who use it. ” The decision forced the company to immediately cease operations and close the site. In case of imcumprimento, was even stipulated a daily fine of ten thousand euros.
In the injunction delivered by the ANTRAL, the Uber is accused of acting outside the law, as it is not licensed to perform public passenger transport.
But if there is a decision, how the US company continues to circulate on national roads? The Uber said in May that it was “not covered by the decision” of the Court of Lisbon, claiming that it was only a technology service and not a taxi service, merely to connect customers to passenger transport services already existed in the country.
Among the Uber partners are, for example, taxis A and T taxis that operate in the liberalized sector, and rent-a-car companies that offer rental services with driver private.
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