A national demonstration by taxi drivers against the incursion of Uber into their hallowed territory saw an estimated 120 drivers drive slowly into Faro this morning, supporting their colleagues in Lisbon and Oporto in a show of solidarity.
The claim is one of ‘unfair competition’ but Francisco Pereira of the Faro district of the Portuguese Taxi Federation admitted that Uber has yet to come to the Algarve but that the US company plans to later in 2016.
The taxi drivers gathered at the Algarve Stadium, drove to the airport and then made their way to the old city where mayor Rogério Bacalhau met them and was handed a petition containing a list of complaints.
"The purpose of our demonstration is to give as much information to people so that they understand our struggle," said António Pinto, from the Associação Nacional dos Transportadores Rodoviários em Automóveis Ligeiros, aka Antral.
Faro's Bacalhau ‘understood how they felt’ and said he would pass the document on to the government, adding that "It makes no sense to have competition without rules” and that "the government has to take action."
The government has failed to take action with the previous minister, Pires de Lima, kicking the issue into the long grass before the PSD coalition disintegrated at the October 2015 election.
The new minister also has dodged the issue and the situation in the courts is even more confusing with the taxi drivers’ association lodging a successful injunction against Uber’s US operation instead of the European business.
The Uber service enables customers to call up a car using a mobile phone app and operates in around 300 cities in 60 countries.
One of the problems that Portugal's taxi drivers have is that customers like Uber, much to their annoyance, so they are seeking to have the service banned completely under ‘unfair competition’ rules.
In a manifesto delivered to the government earlier this month, the drivers’ associations appealed to the public to show solidarity with them in the "fight against Uber" and claimed that the Uber service is illegal because it does not come under the laws in Portugal that govern taxi transport.
Uber is clear that it does not run a taxi service and that its drivers are licensed and properly scrutinised.
In Lisbon the taxi association leaders threatened not to leave Parliament unless someone from government met them.
Drivers in Oporto drove around for three hours ending up at the council offices where the mayor received them and agreed it is necessary to curb the illegal way in which Uber develops its activity.
Eurosondagem released a survey today that revealed that a majority of Lisbon and Oporto inhabitants (72.3%) are favor of Uber in Portugal.
So far, only 26.2% of residents in Lisbon and Oporto have used Uber, but those that have reported they were satisfied with the experience with 68.8% saying it was “a very good service” and 25.3% saying it was “a good service.”
When asked about whether the technology and innovation can improve mobility, 87% said "yes."
