The Delhi ban, announced on 8 December by the city transport department, came after the police arrest of an Uber driver for allegedly raping a woman on 5 December and the discovery he had previously been jailed in connection with another rape charge. The department also alleged Uber had flouted transport rules and "misled" the passenger with its app.
Both Spain and Thailand announced bans on Uber today, while Colombia, France, the Netherlands, Vietnam and Ottawa, Canada have recently taken action against the company. Thailand said that drivers picking up fare-paying passengers via Uber's app were neither registered nor insured to drive commercial vehicles.
ITF Asia regional secretary Mahendra Sharma said: “This dreadful case in Delhi highlights the risks to passenger safety of taxi operations which are not fully regulated. Companies like Uber, which promote themselves as electronic marketplaces that connect customers and drivers using mobile apps, threaten what our affiliates hold most dear – the provision of safe, quality public transport services. We will continue to campaign vigorously against them.”
In early November, the ITF and the International Road Transport Union (IRU), which represents taxi, bus, coach and truck companies worldwide, jointly appealed to regulators to closely scrutinise the Uber app and similar ‘ride sharing’ schemes. They said this would help to ensure that laws were fully respected and enforced, that customers were protected, and that all those working in or offering services in the taxi market enjoyed fair competition.
This summer has seen protests against Uber by registered taxi operators in cities including London, Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Milan and Seattle. Other ITF road transport unions around the world added their voices at events on 8 October.
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