Romanian transporters plan large protest against Uber in Bucharest

The Confederation of Licensed Transport Operators in Romania (COTAR) plans a large protest in Bucharest on November 2, with 6,000 vehicles expected to participate. In addition to asking law changes, the transporters also criticize the activity of Uber, which has become a serious competitor for taxis in Bucharest. They claim that the ride-sharing platform is dangerous for users. The transporters oppose a new law initiative submitted to the Parliament, which aims to regulate alternative transport services such as Uber and other similar apps, which have been eating into the market of traditional taxi services. “The protest has five main themes of which the Romanian Government is directly responsible. It’s important to know that we’re not asking for subsidies, we’re not asking for pay rises, we’re not affecting Romania’s budget with our demands, on the contrary, we ask the regulation of some laws, by Emergency Ordinance, to stop the abuses of some groups of interest from the Romanian Parliament that have changed laws to allow transport activity to be pirated,” reads a COTAR statement, cited by local News.ro. The central theme of the protest is the “piracy” in road transport. The transporters accuse the authorities of not getting involved in combating this phenomenon, which has kept developing in the last years. “Such firms carrying out illegal activities started promoting their services through ads and commercials: <<Over 40,000 customers and more than 2 million km done safely recommend us as the best and reliable transport company>>. Two key words are missing from this presentation, which the Romanian authorities should deal with: illegal and tax dodger,” according to COTAR. The Confederation, which also represents some taxi companies’ interests, also criticizes the expansion of car-sharing Uber, which started operating in a second city in Romania this year – Cluj-Napoca. According to the transporters, the activities like the one carried out by Uber “are dangerous for the population,” because they allegedly involve more risks, and offer “improper” services. Moreover, consumer protection authorities are not checking them. “All the players on the passenger transport market must be authorized under the applicable law, otherwise they are pirates,” reads the statement. COTAR also proposes free transport for students, and a 5% VAT rate for companies with activates in passenger transport that perform regular trips. Several transporters' associations in Romania have recently managed to convince the authorities to freeze the mandatory car insurance (RCA) premiums after massive protests in Bucharest and throughout Romania. Taxi drivers in Bucharest have found a way to fight their Uber competitors Uber goes low cost in Bucharest to draw more users and drivers