Scandal between Uber and taxi drivers turns violent in Romania

The tensions between partner drivers of ride-sharing company Uber and taxi drivers have increased in Romania in recent weeks, and in some cases they even turned violent. Last weekend, in the night from Saturday to Sunday, a violent scandal broke out in the parking of a mall in Timisoara, in western Romania, when five Uber drivers allegedly aggressed a taxi driver. The taxi driver called several of his colleagues, who went to the parking to see what was going on and caught three of the aggressors, according to local Mediafax. Then, other taxi drivers started chasing the other two Uber drivers through the city. They managed to catch them and that’s when another fight began. Meanwhile, the Police was alerted about the scandal. Teams of police officers and gendarmes went to the scene and took several people in for questioning. Following this scandal, dozens of taxi drivers protested against Uber in Timisoara on Sunday. They said that the drivers of Uber or other similar companies do not have to comply with taxi regulations and are not required to issue receipts, as is the case with taxi drivers. After the incidents of last weekend, the Police heard 15 people and fined 45 taxi drivers, local News.ro reported. The fines were given for offenses of disturbing public order and peace, but also for assault and battery. Timisoara mayor Nicolae Robu also condemned the violent scandal in a Facebook post, saying that this violence is inadmissible, especially since the law is not violated by any of the parties. A similar incident occurred in Bucharest a week ago, when three Uber drivers allegedly got into a fight with a taxi driver in front of a club in Bucharest. The Confederation of Licensed Transport Operators in Romania – COTAR announced the incident. “The taxi driver asked for the help of his colleagues, who got to the location to save the victim and called the emergency services,” said COTAR at that time, adding that the Uber drivers fled the scene before the arrival of the Police. Uber said at first that none of the three registration numbers that appear in the video belong to company partner divers. However, it then returned with another statement in which it said that two of the plates appear in Uber’s database, according to local Digi24. Investigations also continue in this case. COTAR has accused Uber and Taxify drivers of unfair competition many times, saying their activity is not regulated similarly to that of the traditional taxi services. Taxi drivers also staged several anti-Uber protests in Bucharest, but with no violent incidents being reported so far. In December last year, the Bucharest General Council voted a decision according to which