Brussels – Some taxi drivers have organised a strike today to disrupt European cities in protest against new competitors, particularly Uber. Uber’s application allows consumers to order a car ride from their smartphone, something previously done by dispatchers.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association represents a range of technology companies from telecommunications to Internet services and has advocated for decades in favour of innovation and competition that brings advantages to consumers and society at large. The following statement can be attributed to CCIA Vice President James Waterworth who leads the Brussels office:
“This coordinated strike is indicative of established interests holding consumers and cities ransom. The self-centred idea that a particular industry is more important than society at large is doomed to fail. Uber’s internet-enabled innovations generally have improved both the consumer and driver’s experience: better service and more transparency for the consumer and greater economic opportunity for the driver.”
“Internet companies have developed a variety of new ways to build trust between buyers and sellers, whether that be for goods or services. Rating systems and the like have put the consumer in control and show that more information allows a more sophisticated approach to regulation. Policymakers should put consumers first by embracing new entrants to markets that are chronically undersupplied and work with them to develop new models of regulation that focus on consumer protection — not on excluding competitors.”