A lobby for regular Nairobi street cabs,
United Kenya Taxi Organisation, has given the government a seven-day
ultimatum to ban online taxi hailing company, Uber, from operating in
the country.
The group said, at a press
conference on Wednesday, that it will stop taxi operations in Nairobi
after the period lapses and hold street demonstrations until their
demands are met.
They asked the government to
intervene by creating a platform for both groups to lodge complaints,
making it clear that they wanted Uber out of the Kenyan market.
“We would like to request the
government and the relevant authorities to intervene and end the
stampede between the local taxi operators and Uber,” read a statement by
the organisation.
“We therefore as United Kenya Taxi
Organisation wish to inform that we have loans to service, families to
feed, children to educate and other responsibilities to cater for and
are not ready to leave the transport industry to a foreigner set to
render us jobless while we are in a democratic republic,” the statement
added.
Tension has remained high since
last month when the first case of harassment against Uber drivers was
reported in Nairobi’s Westlands suburb.
Uber has put its drivers on high alert since the first attack and requested them to be extra careful in their operations.
The police said on Tuesday they had launched investigations into the matter.
Two people are set to be charged
after they were arrested for breaking a windscreen of a car belonging to
an Uber driver attacked at Valley Arcade in Nairobi's Kilimani estate.
Pricing model
Regular taxi drivers claim that
Uber’s cheap pricing model is denying them business and in retaliation
have resulted to attacking taxi drivers using the app in a bid to drive
them out of business.
Some members of the taxi organisation present during the press conference claimed to have gone for days without business.
Others carrying placards, chanted
outside the press conference room saying “Uber must go!” Uber claims to
have initiated talks with local taxi associations in a bid to work
together, but their efforts have so far been unfruitful.
“Uber has been engaging with taxi
associations since last year to find a way that we can partner with
them. We do not feel that it should be about Uber or taxi but rather
Uber and taxi,” Samantha Allenberg, Uber Africa spokesperson said.
Ashford Mwangi, United Kenya Taxi
Cab spokesman, said that Uber has strict restrictions that hinder its
members from being part of the movement.
“It is hard joining Uber because of
its restrictions. First they demand the car to be almost new, making it
hard for anyone who bought their taxi in 2009 to join them because we
all cannot afford new cars,” he said.
But even as they fight the new
entrants, the taxi drivers’ organisation is said to be working on its
own application to keep up with market trends. It is not however clear
when it would be ready for the market.
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