Cab drivers are starting a strike today to protest the use of taxi-hailing service app, Uber, in major European cities including London, Milan and Berlin.
Bloomberg reports that traffic began snarling in cities including Paris this morning, with a total of more than 30,000 taxi and limo drivers from London to Milan planning blockades in tourist centers and shopping districts. They are asking regulators to Uber, whose software allows customers to order a ride from drivers who don’t need licenses that can cost 200,000 euros ($270,000) apiece.
“While similar demonstrations this year have led to smashed windshields and traffic chaos in Paris, a united front in Europe highlights the challenges for Uber’s expansion after a funding round that values the company at $17 billion, almost five times the figure in an earlier round. Out of some 128 cities it serves, only 20 are in Europe, including Manchester, Lyon and Zurich.”
Uber was founded as UberCab by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick in 2009. Uber’s mobile app launched in 2010 in San Francisco, on iPhones and Android phones.
With the recent $1.2 billion in funding in its latest round in June 6, 2014, Uber is currently valued at around $17 billion pre-money.
[image credits: The Guardian]
